To our readers: A whole new e-paper experience to help you through these turbulent times

We know times are tough. You’re not getting out as much — and with good reason.

We’re in the same boat. The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed our newsgathering operation, but we’re not missing a beat. We’re producing more stories now than ever, even though many of us are based at home. When reporters and photographers must head into the field, they’re using the same social distancing practices as others bravely working a variety of jobs. Our journalists know just how important their reporting is at this moment and are working tirelessly to deliver it to you.

That said, if you’re among the tens of thousands of people who are accustomed to buying a Sun-Times at the grocery store, gas station, newsstand or another single-copy sales point, your routine might be being disrupted.

We’d love for you to subscribe for 7-day home delivery and full digital access. But we also know that it might be challenging to afford to have the newspaper delivered to your door in these turbulent times.

It’s why we’ve made important COVID-19 coverage available for free at suntimes.com/essential-coronavirus-news.

And it’s why, this week, we’ve launched a vastly improved e-paper experience that also includes 24/7 digital access to suntimes.com.

The e-paper is a digital replica of the print newspaper we produce each day. You can read it on your desktop computer or mobile device — and have unrestricted access to our website — for $29.99 a year. Just go to suntimes.com/subscribe.

Our previous system for delivering this product was a bit clunky: E-paper subscribers only had e-paper access, and print and digital subscribers needed two different logins to access our e-paper and website.

Now, we’ve melded things together. One login gets you access to our improved e-paper and our world-class website, powered by Vox Media’s Chorus system.

If you’re a print reader who’s never accessed the e-paper or suntimes.com, please follow the instructions below. Both are free with your print subscription and will come in handy when life returns to normal and you begin traveling outside Chicago and want to stay connected.

Also included are instructions to help existing e-paper-only subscribers get access to suntimes.com, and for digital-only subscribers to start reading the e-paper.

If you need help with any of this, please email us at customerservice@suntimes.com or call (888) 848-4637.

And thank you for reading us. Especially now.

Chris Fusco, Editor-in-Chief

How to activate full digital access to suntimes.com — plus get access to the new e-paper — for existing print and e-paper-only subscribers

1. Go to suntimes.com/activate.
2. Click on “Click Here to Activate.”
3. Fill out your information and create a username and password.
4. Verify your subscription mailing address.

This username and password will unlock every story at suntimes.com. It also will allow you to read the e-paper on a desktop computer or mobile device at paper.suntimes.com.

As was the case with the previous version of the e-paper, there’s an app to provide one-touch access to it each day. If you previously downloaded this app, you can download the updated version in the “app updates” section of your device.

New users can download the new Android version of the e-paper app by clicking here and the new iOS version by clicking here. Or simply search “Chicago Sun-Times: E-Paper” in the app store.

When prompted, enter the same username and password you created for suntimes.com. You’ll now have the e-paper experience optimized for your mobile device.

How to activate/update e-paper access for existing digital subscribers

Sun-Times Media

1. Go to paper.suntimes.com.
2. If prompted, enter the same login and password you use to read everything at suntimes.com.
3. For the best experience on a mobile device, download the Android e-paper app by clicking here or the iOS version by clicking here. Or simply search “Chicago Sun-Times: E-Paper” in the app store.
4. If you previously downloaded the e-paper app, look for the updated version where you normally update your apps.
5. When calling up the new version of the app, enter the same login and password you use to access suntimes.com.