THE Sunday Independent will print its British edition in England from this Saturday, as part of a strategy to increase sales and improve distribution.
Berkshire Press, owned by the Guardian Media Group, will print the newspaper, which sells about 12,500 copies in Britain. Independent Newspapers expects to have a British circulation of 20,000 by the summer.
The decision to print in Reading will allow the Sunday Independent to increase its print run, which would be difficult in Dublin, given the capacity of the printing machinery at its Abbey Street premises. It will also save on air freight costs and allow the newspaper to link into the distribution system of the British national newspapers.
According to the editor, Mr Aengus Fanning, the arrangement will allow the Sunday Independent to reach all major centres in Britain. It means it can sell into an Irish community of one million people.
The Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Richard Bruton, will be in Reading for the first printing, along with Mr Fanning, the deputy editor, Ms Anne Harris, the managing director, Mr David Palmer and the deputy chairman,
Mr John Meagher.