Compact (newspaper)
A compact newspaper is a British term referring to a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format. It first came into use when the The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London?s commuters, designed to be easier to read on the train/tube/bus.
Readers from other parts of the country liked the new format, with the result that The Independent introduced it nationally. Other newspapers (The Times and The Scotsman) copied the format as The Independent increased sales. All three newspapers are now printed exclusively in compact format following trial periods during which both broadsheet and compact version were produced simultaneously.
The term "compact" was coined in the 1970s by the Daily Mail when that newspaper went tabloid, although the Mail now calls itself a tabloid.