The other day at work I paid a short visit to the ‘Thorpe Print Centre’ which is the main press for Archant (formally Eastern Counties Newspapers) primarily to install a new printer in one of the offices.
While I was there I took the opportunity to take a few snaps of the press whilst it was churning out the daily Evening News. It’s a pretty impressive sight and is very reminiscent of bygone industrial days with tonnes of machinery whirring away deafeningly loudly and roles of paper flying around inside it.
When first opened in 1995 the Thorpe press was supposedly the most advanced in Europe and is apparently due for a £12.5m upgrade soon to double its capacity. Unfortunately because of the poor lighting conditions many of my photos came out a little blurred except one which I am particularly pleased with:
This is just a small part of the press which, as a whole, looks remarkably like a ‘character’ out of an 80’s children’s TV show (in my mind anyway) that entertained me for many an hour back then, namely Bertha!
