A small community newspaper published in Morar is going digital with an upgrade of its aged printing system.

West Word began printing in November 1994 and has had the same printer ever since.  In the past pages had to be hand collated and folded which was a huge job for their monthly print run of 1200, including 300 subscriptions sent throughout the world.  Now with assistance from Lochaber Enterprise and the Lochaber Community Economic Development (CED) partnership the company will be able to upgrade their out dated printing system with a modern digital one.

Ann Martin, editor of the newspaper said: "At present we rely on volunteers for printing, collating and folding the newspapers which is a very time consuming job. Sometimes there are no volunteer printers available as this process takes up many long hours of their time and requires a huge commitment.  However this new digital equipment will do everything at the touch of a button and will give us a newspaper with excellent quality print and photographs."

West Word has been awarded a package worth £9,130 from Lochaber Enterprise including £4,565 from the European funded CED programme.  CED is a partnership initiative that aims to target funds for sustainable development activities undertaken by communities most in need of support.

The company has also been supported by an Innovation Counsellor from Highland's and Islands Enterprise Innovation support programme to help identify the most suitable system for their purpose.

Alison Boyle, the CED project officer at Lochaber Enterprise said: "West Word is the only community newspaper serving the local area around Mallaig, the Small Isles and Knoydart.  Enabling them to produce a more professional and easier to read newspaper will be in the interest of the communities the paper serves."