The Berliner format is mid-way between a tabloid and a broadsheet, with a page dimension of 470mm x 315mm, and is sold folded.
GPC is able to print in two sizes straight off the press, Full Berliner and Half Berliner. The print site is capable 8pp to 80pp full Berliner full colour in single pass and 16pp to 160pp half Berliner full colour in single pass.
Other sizes are available but would require offline trimming.
While the Berliner format is unique to our presses in the UK, globally this format is used for many other titles, including La Stampa (Italy), La Vanguardia (Spain) and Le Monde (France).
Behind the design
The Guardian re-design was created by an in-house team led by creative editor Mark Porter, with an exclusive new typeface – Guardian Egyptian – specially created for the Guardian is used on the paper.
Porter commented in 2005: "We had, at all times, the commercial idea of what the paper needed to be but that was always balanced with the journalistic value of what the paper needed to be. If everyone else is shouting louder and louder, the only way you can be heard is by talking in a normal tone of voice - or even whispering."
Production benefits
For a company that prides itself on its commitment to core values – including the environment – the Berliner switch was an excellent way to save paper.
Advertising benefits
There are many benefits to advertisers in the full colour Berliner.
Differentiation in the marketplace
Full colour and better repro
Flexibility
Creativity
Innovation
Increased audience attention and engagement
Value for money
Editorial benefits
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger commented on the challenges faced at the time of the Berliner switch: "The challenge for us was to remain true to our journalism, now attracting a record worldwide audience online, while at the same time finding a modern print format for a new generation of readers in this country."
The Berliner offers:
Convenience
Broadsheet values
The best of both worlds
Easy navigation
Quality
Interaction
A Guardian upgrade
Differentiation