SUSSEX, Wis. and LONDON -- Quad/Graphics, the largest privately held printer in the United States, and YUDU Media, the UK's leading provider of digital publishing solutions, have entered into a strategic alliance that makes Quad/Graphics a minority shareholder of YUDU Media and adds YUDU's digital publishing solution to the printer's range of products.

Through YUDU, Quad/Graphics will provide publishers, catalog marketers, retailers and advertisers with innovative solutions that connect print and online channels. The partnership will also facilitate YUDU Media's expansion into the U.S. market.

Joel Quadracci, President & CEO of Quad/Graphics, says, "We are excited by the benefits this partnership will bring to our clientele, who are increasingly using multiple communication approaches to build their businesses."

Quadracci continues: "Digital publishing does not replace ink on paper, but rather enhances it. It's a multichannel world and we aim to be at the forefront of bridging the print world with the electronic world to create even more value for our clients and their customers."

Richard Stephenson, CEO of YUDU Media, says: "This is a key moment in YUDU Media's history. Not content to rest on our laurels of being the UK's leading digital publishing specialist for magazines, catalogs, books and newspapers, our partnership with Quad/Graphics will allow us to expand aggressively worldwide, especially in the fiercely competitive U.S. market."

Stephenson continues: "Quad/Graphics is the perfect partner not least because, just like YUDU Media, the company is privately held. This will allow both companies to move forward with a long-term plan, not a short-term 'crash and burn' venture capital strategy which many of our competitors suffer from."

Quad/Graphics will market YUDU Media's digital publishing solution under the name Quad/Graphics Digital Edition. In addition to video, audio and Flash-rich active media, the solution offers infinite zoom; search and archive functions; bookmarking and reader page notes; digital catalog order forms (that integrate and connect directly to a shopping cart); digital rights management; third-party subscription/payment; and one-click page printing.

Quad/Graphics will deliver the Digital Edition via a url link to the publisher, catalog marketer or advertiser to post on Web sites or include in email or other e-commerce efforts.

Quad/Graphics Digital Edition will also help clients fine-tune their marketing and content, tracking data to give clients insight into how the end users interact with the electronic version of their printed piece. For example, Quad/Graphics Digital Edition can tell how many users read an edition, what stories/pages/products are read or viewed, what users spend the most time reading/viewing, what ads they link to, what products they purchase, and more.