The Chronicle showed off its new look to readers this morning. It has replaced its headline and body copy typefaces, switched the body copy to ragged-right, and has added 0.5 rules in column gutters. Between stories are three horizontal rules. The headlines are now in serif type and a bit less dense than before.

In a note to readers, Editor Ward Bushee said the changes make the Chron easier to read and navigate “while retaining its distinctive, classic character.” The changes were also made in anticipation of the Chron’s switch to new presses in June. The paper will not renew the contract of its approximately 230 Teamster printers and instead will outsource the work to Transcontinental, a Canadian company that has built a plant in Fremont with state-of-the-art presses.

Starting Monday, Bushee said the Bay Area section will be combined with the Business section, which will start on the back of that section every weekday. Business has been on the back of Sports on Monday and Tuesday.

Editorial and opinion pages will move from the Bay Area section to the A section, similar to a move the Merc made in the past year.

Bushee also discusses the paper’s financial situation. “The Chronicle is losing large sums of money each week and has been for some time. The primary reason for this is a decline in advertising revenue, which once supplemented the cost of producing a newspaper. Few readers realize that it costs more than $10 to produce and deliver each copy of the Sunday Chronicle.” (Photo credit: Mike Kepka, Chronicle)