Bosses at Cambridge University Press must surely have felt the heavy hand of history on their shoulders when taking the decision to hand over its print operations to MPG Books.

Here's clause one of the press's statute: "There shall be in the University a University Press which shall be devoted to printing and publishing in the furtherance of the acquisition, advancement, conservation, and dissemination of knowledge in all subjects; to the advancement of education, religion, learning, and research; and to the advancement of literature and good letters."

CUP is famous for being the world's oldest printing company - Thomas Thomas, its first official printer, was appointed in 1583 the year Henry VIII granted the company a 'letters patent' to allow it to print 'all manner of books'.

Almost 430 years on, the CUP business is predominantly about a worldwide publishing operation, not printing. In recent years its print works has been downscaled from hundreds of staff to just 69.

So while the history attached to this venerable institution makes it understandable that many people will rail against this move, the pragmatists will see it as entirely logical. If it made sense for publishers to print their own books in this day and age, they'd all be at it.

Am intrigued to find out more about the details of this deal and how it will all pan out. It's easy to see how an extra chunk of guaranteed CUP work (for a certain period at least) would be appealing to Tony Chard, the ambitious boss at MPG. After acquiring Biddles in 2008 Tony and his team have obviously developed a taste for East Anglian book printers.

The next interesting thing will be the scope and scale of the proposed new print operation in Cambridge. But no doubt Thomas Thomas is turning in his grave.