The Chicago Sun-Times, although hit hard by the advertising slump and poor U.S. economy, is investing in its has printing and workflow systems, Editor & Publisher reported.

The tabloid-style newspaper has purchased nine prepress systems and workflow components from Belgium-based Agfa Graphics.

The pre-press system, Advantage CLS, is a computer-to-plate system. Other products the Sun-Times bought include Arkitex workflow components, including both Autoplan and Afirma for better monitoring and automation, according to an announcement from Agfa Graphics' on Friday.

Buying the new system is hoped to help cut costs through less maintenance and downtime, E&P reported.

The cassette-loading system has a 220-plate-per-hour throughput, which can be configured for multiple plate sizes without customisation, and can use different plate sizes on a day-to-day basis, according to E&P.