Digital printing continues to gain weight as a direct marketing strategy; however, recent advancements in inkjet technology are also keeping this type of printing at the forefront.

Quebecor World Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to sell its European operations to Hombergh/De Pundert Group, a Netherlands-based investment group, for approximately €133 million.

HP has signed a multimillion-dollar agreement with commercial printer Consolidated Graphics Inc. for the installation of as many as 36 HP Indigo digital presses.

The proposed merger between Vertis Communications and American Color Graphics is back on. The two printers announced plans to merge last summer with the goal of being able to better address the advertising insert and pre-media services marketplace.

Quebecor World Inc. said it will close one US facility and significantly downsize a Canadian facility as part of its three-year retooling program, resulting in the loss of approximately 700 full-time jobs. Earlier this month, Quebecor World said it will close its Magog, Quebec, facility, which produces magazines and retail inserts, resulting in a loss of approximately 300 full-time positions.

HP and Omnicom Group Inc. have formed a strategic relationship to develop a digital print supply chain expected to reduce printing costs and improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns for Omnicom's clients. The two companies plan to pilot the program with several multi-national brands in 2008.

Office supply superstores are fast becoming big players in the printing business. Chantal Todé reports on this trend.

Troubled printer Quebecor World Inc. is closing its Magog, Quebec, facility, which produces magazines and retail inserts for the US and Canadian markets. The company said in a statement that the closure is part of its global retooling and restructuring program begun three years ago.

The Economist has given Quebecor World notice that it may want to opt out of its printing contract when the agreement expires in September. No concrete decisions have yet been made, and both companies are in talks to extend the contract. The contract would have been automatically renewed had The Economist not given notice.

In what HP is calling its most extensive push into the graphic arts arena to date, the company recently unveiled a series of technologies and products intended to improve the speed and reduce the cost of digital printing.