CHICAGO, June 26 As part of its investment to create the most cost-effective, integrated and flexible printing "platform of the future'' for its customers and streamline operations, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company will close its Old Saybrook, Conn., printing plant. Operations will be integrated into the company's Lancaster, Pa., complex, which will undergo an expansion to better serve catalog and magazine customers. "Our employees, customers and the community are our top priority as we work through this difficult time,'' said Robert S. Pyzdrowski, president of commercial print operations for R.R. Donnelley. The Old Saybrook plant, which opened in 1960, will close by July 2002. The plant employs approximately 500 people. "Taking actions that affect the lives of our employees is an extremely difficult decision, even when they make sound business sense,'' said Pyzdrowski. "After careful review, we determined our Old Saybrook facility lacks the scale necessary to support the current and future needs of our customers.'' R.R. Donnelley is committed to helping employees during the transition and will assist them in finding other jobs, whether inside or outside the company. The company also will offer separation pay, extended medical benefits and skills training to eligible employees. The company will reinforce its partnership with customers by helping them improve the effectiveness of their communications. Over the next two years, the company will invest $300 million to improve the efficiency of its printing network by improving speed to market through a fully digital platform managed as one unified network; improving operating flexibility, and reducing waste. "We remain committed to providing our catalog and magazine print customers with exceptional customers service and quality, along with comprehensive, integrated services, from content management through distribution,'' said Pyzdrowski.