LIKE most industries, technology has had a monumental impact on the newspaper business.

The way papers like this one are put together is incomparable with years gone by.

Whereas everything is now digital, once upon a time 'copy' - the stories you read - was originally set in hot metal and placed in page format before being sent to print. Pictures were also produced in metal.

One man who witnessed those changes first-hand is former Essex County Newspapers employee Peter Barfield.

Mr Barfield, who lives in Great Horkesley, started at the company in 1954, at the original QB Engravers, and served with distinction for 40 years.

In the last couple of years, the 83-year-old has used his experiences and memories to put together a booklet called The History of the Colchester Newspaper Group.

It covers the years from the very first Colchester Evening Gazette through to the 50th anniversary of the Daily Gazette.

It is a 52-page A4 booklet which includes a history of the north-east Essex titles, including the Essex County Standard, Clacton, Frinton and Walton Gazette and Harwich and Manningtree Standard.

Here are some of the images from the publication, which illustrate just how much things have changed through the decades.