The Globe and Mail introduced a glossy, colourful redesign on Friday that editor-in-chief John Stackhouse called one of the most significant changes in the Toronto newspaper's 166-year history.

"We wanted to celebrate the beauty of print to make it visual, vibrant … forget traditional grey," Stackhouse told CBC News on Friday morning.

The radical redesign showcases a dramatically different look and feel for the national newspaper, including a smaller overall size, colour featured on every page, more graphics, slightly glossy paper stock and an increased emphasis on certain sections, including the lifestyle areas. The Globe website has also been given a refreshed look.

'We see across the world a lot of high-quality papers — The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times — doing very well because more sophisticated readers still want a paper that helps them understand what just happened.'— John Stackhouse, Globe and Mail editor-in-chief

Management signed a $1.7 billion contract to print the Globe on new, state-of-the-art German presses for the next 18 years.

Publisher Phillip Crawley described the new look as a "game-changer."

Traditional newspapers today face competition from free dailies and online news sites.

People who grew up reading a physical paper every day are aging and many have become comfortable with getting news in other ways — on their BlackBerrys and iPads, for instance. Meanwhile, younger readers, already more inclined to search the web for information, feel little attachment to print products. As a result, advertising revenues for print newspapers have dropped considerably in recent years.

Some industry-watchers have already cast a critical eye on the revamped Globe and are interested to see whether the paper's reputation for journalism and commentary will be affected.

"I think radical change is called for," said John Miller, former chair of the Ryerson University School of Journalism.

"But having looked at some of the early prototypes, I think readers are going to be in for a shock. I've already dubbed it 'Globe-lite.'"

Both Crawley and Stackhouse insist the quality of the Globe's journalism will remain, despite the bold new presentation. They also express confidence in the state of print newspapers in today's media landscape.

"We are very confident in the future of quality printed daily newspapers," Stackhouse said.

"We see across the world a lot of high-quality papers — The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times — doing very well because more sophisticated readers still want a paper that helps them understand what just happened," he said.

"They can read us on any number of screens: that's fantastic. I'm mostly concerned that people are reading the Globe and Mail — getting Globe and Mail journalism — and I'm keen to get that to them in any way I can. Print is one of those ways."