Newspapers. Massively challenged, yet still massive. News that News International will pay Johnston Press £10m to facilitate an early exit from its printing contract with the latter is an indication of just how big the numbers involved are. And this £10m is on top of £30m paid by NI last year for a similar contract cancellation, also with Johnston. We're coming to the end game in what has been a huge amount of consolidation in newspaper print sites: Johnston has reduced down to three, and the Daily Mail & General Trust will also reduce its print sites to just two, Didcot and Thurrock, once its move from Harmsworth Quays is completed this year. Four years ago DMGT had eight print sites. It’s also noteworthy that last year’s collapse of Newsfax International – a top 100 printing company with turnover of some £25m – saw its work absorbed into other plants with barely a ripple. Meanwhile, we have some new, state-of-the-art investments. The News International sites, obviously. And Richard Desmond’s new West Ferry site in Luton. The West Ferry investment is notable as it has an option for the addition of dryers to the KBA presses, meaning the site could produce colour supplement and magazine-type products. The same goes for DC Thomson and its new Goss install in Dundee. I am reminded of a visit to Axel Springer late last year. Not only was the company about to embark upon a major investment in Kodak inkjet heads to allow it to produce clever hybrid print products, the plant was also busy busy busy during the daytime producing commercial print products such as magazines and supermarket flyers. For some reason UK newspaper printers seem to be lagging behind their continental counterparts in this respect. I don’t imagine this will remain the case. Rather, I expect we could well see some changes sooner rather than later when it comes to newspaper groups looking for ways to maximise their investments in printing infrastructure. Consolidation meets expansion, perhaps? Which will be front page news for commercial printers, too.