Transcon deal with Globe heralds another redesign, smaller paper, full-colour

The announcement of a major 18-year, $1.7 billion printing deal, effective 2010 between Transcontinental Inc. and the Globe and Mail is interesting in several aspects:

• the paper will be redesigned yet again in 2010 (the last one was only launched in 2007)
• the redesign will be on a smaller paper (essentially lopping 1¾" off the top)
• the new look will take advantage of full colour on every page
• the new contract means Transcon will now print the paper coast-to-coast; previously it was in the east (Atlantic, Quebec and Ontario) and it will now print in the Alberta and British Columbia markets.

It continues to be interesting that, as their traditional markets are squeezed both in circulation and advertising revenue, newspapers have moved inexorably to imitate magazines in colour and presentation. The sincerest form of flattery, as they say.