CHICAGO -- R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company and Muller Martini today announced an exclusive agreement to develop the first fully integrated digital ink jet press and inline binding system capable of delivering books at printing speeds of 800 feet per minute.

This new system will integrate RR Donnelley's recently introduced and newly rebranded (from IPS3) proprietary ProteusJet 1200 dpi digital press with Muller Martini's SigmaLine to enhance economical production of short-run hardcover and softcover books for education, trade and other publishers. Under this exclusive agreement, RR Donnelley will take delivery of the first six integrated systems in the United States with deployment occurring in 2010 and 2011.

The integrated system expands the companies' relationship in developing solutions that meet the quality and efficiency needs of book publishers. RR Donnelley's digital printing capabilities complement the company's conventional production platform in North America, Latin America and Asia to serve publishers with run quantities from one to millions.

RR Donnelley Group President Dan Knotts stated, "We are pleased that our continuing, collaborative relationship with Muller Martini has yielded this important breakthrough for our customers. We believe that this integrated print and bind system combines best-in-class technologies developed by both RR Donnelley and Muller Martini to create an innovative new capability and extend RR Donnelley's position as a technology leader. This combination increases speeds and reduces operating handoffs to deliver superb value and production flexibilityto publishers."

To enable the benefits of digital book production to be fully realized, the various sub-processes have to be integrated with one another. Muller Martini's SigmaLine, a commercial-quality, fully-automated production line works in tandem with RR Donnelley's digital printing units to move production from a PDF file to finished books in a single operation with a full JDF workflow utilizing the Muller Martini CONNEX.

"We are very pleased to continue our long relationship with RR Donnelley," said Bruno Muller, Chief Executive Officer of Muller Martini. "The wide performance range of our finishing systems and ongoing innovation allow Muller Martini to develop solutions that meet RR Donnelley's growing demands for digital finishing technology."