800 lb gorillas playing nicely: HP+ Donnelly

We could all get from here to there if everyone would learn to play nicely. Given the stresses of a quickly differentiating and reorganizing Print space, maybe they will. At any rate given that the two leading players in the evolving printernet are Consolidated and Donnelly, it's interesting to see HP involved with both.

C'mon, HP. Spin off the print piece so my IRA could get into the action. I'm just not seeing how the computer piece is ever going to get to reasonable margins.

From a press release:

RR Donnelley and HP Plan to Create an Alliance to Develop Next-Generation Digital Printing Technology

CHICAGO, Sept. 10, 2009 –

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.

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.