Print service providers are responding to one of the most challenging economic environments ever by joining forces and expanding services to compete.

Ailing printing company Quebecor World has rejected RR Donnelley & Sons latest offer to acquire it and, instead, has decided to proceed with a reorganization plan currently underway as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. Quebecor World has said it could emerge from creditor protection by mid-July.

Schmidt has acquired the cooperative direct mail business of Solar Communications Inc., including Solar's collating assets and paper outer-wrap technology. "The business-to-consumer portion of our business has been growing significantly over the last few years and this acquisition provides a good opportunity to continue that growth and add some capabilities that we didn't have," said Jeff Winter, director of sales and marketing at Schmidt.

Archway Marketing Services, which provides fulfillment services, print management and business intelligence to businesses, has entered a deal to acquire the supply chain management division of Resolve. The deal is expected to close at the end of June. While the two companies have competed in the past on the business-to-business side on fulfillment of marketing and point-of-sale materials, the deal with Resolve brings capabilities in consumer-facing marketing materials.

HP has eliminated all advertising for its online marketing design services Web site MarketSplash and will shut down the site in September in order to relaunch it as a platform exclusively for HP customers soon after. The company is also looking at testing a program that will enable print service providers to offer design services through MarketSplash.

Cox Enterprises Inc. said it will sell its Tarboro, NC-based Saving Source Direct to MailSouth, headquartered in Helena, AL, in a deal expected to close May 26. The pending sale follows Cox Newspapers' 2008 announcement that it had placed all of its publishing assets in Texas, Colorado and North Carolina for sale.

RR Donnelley & Sons has expressed interest in acquiring all or substantially all of Quebecor World's assets and properties, and is offering to pay Quebecor debtors approximately $957 million cash and 30 million shares, valued at $394 million as of the closing price on May 11.

Using variable data printing (VDP) to create personalized marketing pieces has typically been favored by niche direct marketers over national brands. This may be changing, however.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. reported net sales for the first quarter ended March 31 totaled $2.5 billion, an 18.1% decrease from the first quarter of 2008. The sales drop included a 3.5% negative impact from changes in foreign exchange rates and volume declines across substantially all product lines, as well as continued price pressure.

VistaPrint Limited and FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko's) have teamed up in a multi-year strategic alliance that has VistaPrint providing business stationery and marketing materials for FedEx Office's customers. In addition, FedEx will be a primary express carrier for VistaPrint's orders coming from its production facility in Windsor, Ontario, to locations in North America.