DEREK Hatton, plate-making manager, has been through a lot of changes in a 40 year career which began with the Bolton Evening News at Mealhouse Lane.

In those days the 17-year-old Derek assisted in the manufacturing of huge metal printing plates which weighed a half-hundredweight: "We had to lift them into a melting pot so we could re-use the metal the next day," he said.

Today's operation could not be more different.

Derek oversees the operation where pages arrive via computer, from the various newspapers being printed, are fed into the plate-making machine -- again electronically -- and checks the thin metal sheets that come out at the other end.

Apart from the physical differences, Derek is very enthusiastic about the new system: "The quality of the plates is vastly improved," he said. "We do not have to make a negative any more so there is an entire process, with the possibility of mistakes, eliminated."

The new system is also faster and can handle more work: "We can produce between eight and 10,000 plates a week as opposed to 2,400 at Lostock," he added.

In contrast to Derek, who has spent his entire working life with the BEN, print manager Paul Barker is a newcomer to Newsquest.

Having worked for other newspapers Paul took the job at Wingates because of the challenge: "It's an exciting project, helping to set up a brand new print works, especially with all the superb equipment we have here," he said. "The presses have been brought from America and completely refurbished -- the whole set-up is far moire efficient than any I have worked with before."

Many of the Wingates workers have been with the BEN, and its various owners, for a long while.

With 25 years experience, Len Crompton is another who has seen a lot of changes.

Len is a printer who sorts out the various plates into mono (black and white) and colour before they are fitted to the press and, using a carefully worked out plan, pressroom manager Brian Lupton -- another long term employee -- hangs the plates in the right position, again before fitting to the press.

All around, people move purposefully -- from the plate making department through to the press room, where huge rollers feed white paper into one end and printed papers come out of the other.

Downstairs in despatch there is the same air of excitement as newspapers arrive, via a huge despatch system which can handle up to 80,000 newspapers an hour.

They are then parcelled up and loaded into the familiar vans for delivery to newsagents.

Perhaps the last word could go to Ray Grailey, publishing manager who is in charge of the last part of the operation: "The new equipment is satisfying and exciting to use but we never forget that the name of the game is getting the newspapers to the readers."