In nine days, your Sacramento Bee will undergo an overnight transformation that has been months in the making.

We started the job to figure out how to produce a good newspaper in a more compact format, mainly to save on newsprint, one of our biggest costs.

Almost immediately, though, people across The Bee saw opportunity in the upcoming changes. Instead of just trying to make a smaller paper, we decided to build a better one.

I've written about the newspaper redesign over the past eight months in my weekly Forum section column, and today I'll share additional details.

The most obvious changes are in the newspaper's physical size and design. The page in your hands will be about an inch narrower, with handsome new typefaces including a new nameplate.

(The new Sacramento Bee banner will retain its mascot Scoopy, designed in 1943 by legendary animator Walt Disney.)

The size of the story text won't change, with one exception: The obituaries, still found in the local section, will run in bigger type and move to a standard six-column grid.

There are other reader "wins" that respond to requests we've heard and opportunities we saw: daily color comics, a doubling of daily stocks listings, more coverage of local food and wine and more.

We're making too many changes to list here, and we'll share more details in various ways before and after the July 29 launch.

We know regular Bee readers have deep habits in reading the paper, and that the new format asks you to change some of those habits.

We're reducing the number of sections in the paper to save paper and to focus the energies of a smaller news staff. Our focus is on quality rather than quantity.

In a time when many newspapers are simply slashing coverage, we feel good about launching a new edition with so many coverage gains. So, loyal readers, we ask your help in making the new Bee a success.

Here are more highlights:

• More focus on key topics. Our own reporting and frequent reader feedback showed a need for The Bee to deepen coverage in a number of areas. Among them: local investigative reporting, California news, health care and local arts and culture reporting.

This content emphasis will show up in how we organize the paper, in more digests to summarize news of different types and in expanded coverage in some areas. Among new features: "Public Eye," a weekly community-watch column in the local section, and a new state worker column (with accompanying blog) on the Capitol & California page.

• A new "Top Stories" news summary on the front page and other digests and new labeling throughout the paper to make it easier to navigate. We've added a bit of space in the main news section to put more focus on national and world news.

• A new Our Region section with added space for regional news including business coverage. You'll find a daily Business page, expanded daily stocks and mutual funds and regional and national/international business digests inside. We will continue publishing a separate Sunday Business section.

• Changes in Sports including a new "Leading Off" column on the cover and improved organization inside the section.

• A new Living Here daily features section with a strong content theme each day. Some new themes: Books & Media on Mondays, Food & Wine on Wednesdays and Style on Fridays. The Sunday Living Here section focuses on Health & Fitness and will feature advice and information for healthy living.

• Color comics every day. Monday through Saturday, you'll find them in a new Fun & Games section at or toward the back of Living Here. Sunday color comics will continue in their current format.

• A new Sunday arts and travel section called Explore. Explore replaces the Ticket+ tabloid and Travel broadsheet sections.

• Remodeled daily and Sunday opinion pages. The Sunday section is renamed California Forum and will include Daniel Weintraub's "The Conversation," which focuses on issues. Daily opinion pages will move from the back of the local section to the back of the A section.

Reach The Bee's editor, Melanie Sill, at (916) 321-1002.