EVENING Star publisher Archant is to make major changes at its publishing centre in Ipswich.Printing the Star is to be transferred to the company's high-technology print centre at Thorpe near Norwich within the next 18 months.

EVENING Star publisher Archant is to make major changes at its publishing centre in Ipswich.

Printing the Star is to be transferred to the company's high-technology print centre at Thorpe near Norwich within the next 18 months.

This will mean that the paper will have more colour pages and it will benefit from more technological advances.

The Star's sister paper, the East Anglian Daily Times, is already printed at Thorpe.

The Star will continue to be produced in Ipswich with journalists, production and advertising staff based in offices in the centre of the town.

Archant spokesman Keith Morris said: “Across the Archant business our advertisers and readers tell us that they want more colour in their newspapers and they want higher quality printing.

“To meet this demand we are investing in creating a flexible print operation in Norwich which will give full colour on every page for all of the Archant titles, making us the largest regional publisher to provide this level of colour.

“The new capacity we are putting in will require additional people to run the plant and those whose jobs will be made redundant in Ipswich will have the opportunity to apply for any new posts created at the enlarged Norwich print centre.

“Closure of the Ipswich print centre doesn't signal the start of a withdrawal from Ipswich. Many of the Ipswich titles are already printed in Norwich and this move will mean improvements for the remaining titles.

“Our Suffolk readers and advertisers will be better served. None of the editorial, advertising, and publishing teams based in Lower Brook Street, Ipswich will be impacted by this decision and we will continue to have a high profile at the heart of Ipswich and the county.”