From where I sit it seems pretty amazing that Pindar has managed to get a deal for Cooper Clegg away just a month (pretty much) after putting the business up for sale, especially as plenty of people were of the opinion that no buyer would be found. Rivals hoping to see capacity taken out of the market are dejected that that hasn't turned out to be the case.

So far, so interesting, and putting aside for now any understandable curiosity about the composition of the BIMBO team that has bought the firm, and their backers, we will now swiftly move on to the next interesting thing which is what happens next. All the vibes are that Cooper Clegg will lose its Bauer Consumer Media work. The Condé Nast titles are, apparently, up for tender too. However, recent events have demonstrated that there are no easy decisions at the moment for publishers looking to review their rosters.

When I look at the magazine web offset sector it seems that on one hand we could be on the cusp of some major structural changes that would involve high-profile casualties... or on the other there'll be lots of huffing and puffing but everything will stay pretty much as it is. Buyers will be acutely aware of the power they wield and their responsibilities (as the NJP saga demonstrated, nobody wants to deliver the fatal blow to a long-standing supplier) and the potential for career-limiting decisions as they attempt to second-guess the market while ensuring continuity of supply.

The criticism most often levelled at Cooper Clegg was that it needed to reinvest in the larger format 64/72pp web presses that have become standard issue in rival press halls up and down the country. Putting aside the minor point that the people who have invested millions in said presses aren't exactly rolling in gold, the Tewkesbury presses at - what - fifteen years old? must indeed be a bit tired now. But let's look at what the company has going for it in its current setup. It produces work for extremely demanding clients, and it has a highly-skilled workforce. It can not only print this work, but it can finish it too - funny how often this area is overlooked. I'm sure there are plenty of people who could print, say, Easy Living or Sainsbury's magazine. But how many have the bindery capabilities or capacity to finish the job too? Last but certainly not least, it has two short cut-off webs. These presses have been the business's salvation for some years, and with paper prices on the up and everyone very focused on paper costs at the moment they still have considerable appeal to print buyers. Maybe the way forward for Cooper Clegg is to shut down some of its old long-format capacity and focus on what it hasn't got, in the shape of those extra millimetres that add up to thousands of pounds of paper waste.