Which has prompted a handful of firms to try and marry the economics of electronic publishing with the quality of printing.

ECONOMIST: Electronic books

But the reality is that given electronic document management today, people end up printing less and managing more.

FORBES: At Hewlett Packard Everything Old Is New Again

As for the crudities of hot-metal typesetting and letter-press printing, all these have long been superseded by electronic setting (in which a 1970s managing director, Ian Trafford, was a pioneer, and made The Economist one too), and by the stunning quality of modern offset printing.

ECONOMIST: Our paper in the 1930s: Ninety-plus, and still young | The

Both firms have developed organic electronic materials that are soluble and so can be deposited using screen printing and inkjet technologies.

ECONOMIST: REPORTS

Mr. Boarman, whose first job out of high school was working at a printing company in downtown Washington, said he has a "romantic" attachment to the Printing Office name, but noted that much of the work is electronic nowadays.

WSJ: Stop Press: U.S. Printer Bails

Agencies are encouraged to limit the publication and printing of hard copy documents and to presume that information should be provided in an electronic form, whenever practicable, permitted by law, and consistent with applicable records retention requirements.

WHITEHOUSE: Executive Order 13589 -- Promoting Efficient Spending