The Times was printed in compact format for 219 years.
The Times . It began in 1785 under the title , adopting its current name on 1 January 1788 . The Times was printed in broadsheet format for 219 years , but switched to compact size in 2004 in an attempt to appeal more to younger readers and commuters using public transport . The Times had an average daily circulation of 446,164 in December 2016 ; in the same period , The Sunday Times had an average daily circulation of 792,210 .