A Cautionary Tale

A more interesting trend, says Zarwan, is the practice of newspapers outsourcing their printing, as evidenced by the 2006 deal struck by Transcontinental Inc. and The San Francisco Chronicle. After all, “newspapers are in the news business and not in the printing business,” he says.

According to Holliday, continued pressure will be brought to bear on the newspaper, catalog and directory segments by converging technological and social trends. “They will, however, survive and serve market requirements longer than a pure technology- based forecast would indicate. Information consumers, even younger, cyber-savvy ones, seem to be clinging to hard copy.”