Editor's note: Cary Sherburne spoke with Mary Lee Schneider, Chief Technology Officer of RR Donnelley to gain more insight on this joint initiative. Print CEO: RR Donnelley, HP Announce Innovative Technology Alliance to “Revolutionize Printing”

CHICAGO – September 10, 2009 – R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company and HP today announced that plans have been finalized to create a technology alliance to collaborate on the development of digital printing solutions for inkjet-based digital presses.  

“RR Donnelley has long been a pioneer in the digital print space,” said Thomas J. Quinlan III, RR Donnelley’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our industry-leading position – both as buyer and builder of world-class digital imaging equipment – makes RR Donnelley and HP the perfect partners.”

“With the introduction of the Inkjet Web Press at Drupa last year, we broke new ground in the analog-to-digital transformation of the graphics industry,” said Vyomesh Joshi, Executive Vice President, Imaging and Printing Group, HP.  “As the leader in digital printing, we are taking this transformation one step further by collaborating with the world’s largest print service provider to bring greater value to our customers.”  

Under the proposed arrangement, RR Donnelley’s Research and Development Center is expected to collaborate with the Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions unit of HP to develop new digital printing technologies. Products are planned to be sold under the HP brand. 

“We expect that the combined resources of RR Donnelley and HP will enable the industry to move more quickly towards a future in which digital printing provides an even greater opportunity for product innovation and more effectively complements proven conventional printing technologies,” said Mary Lee Schneider, Chief Technology Officer for RR Donnelley.  “We look forward to bringing our collective talent, intellectual property and innovation to bear on what we believe is an exciting new chapter in the ongoing evolution of the printing industry.”

The two companies, which are working to put formal agreements in place, initially plan to focus on the development of a Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) printing solution. MICR printing enables high-speed and secure reading of checks by financial institutions. This solution would be based on HP’s inkjet printing technology and developed by RR Donnelley for transactional, transpromotional and direct mail applications. The companies anticipate that the solution will be offered as an optional component of the HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press and be used for RR Donnelley’s internal needs as well as offered by HP.