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The Oregonian Media Group is exploring the sale of its printing facility near Providence Park.

(The Oregonian)

Advance Central Services Oregon, which prints and distributes The Oregonian, has signed a contract with a Portland-based company to print the newspaper.

The new printing contract with Signature Graphics announced Tuesday will be phased in later this summer. Financial terms were not disclosed. Signature, located near Portland International Airport, also will print the Oregonian Media Group's weekly papers and specialty publications.

Advance Central Services Oregon was formed as a separate company in October 2013 to print and distribute The Oregonian and other publications. Its sister company, the Oregonian Media Group, publishes OregonLive and The Oregonian.

The changes are not expected to impact the delivery of the printed product, according to Kevin Denny, the vice president and general manager of Advance Central Services Oregon.

"Today's announcement will result in operational efficiencies and it will result in only minor changes in our work flow - most of which readers won't even notice," Denny said. "Sadly, it does mean we will be saying goodbye to our longtime pressroom employees."

Advance Central Services Oregon has retained a broker to explore selling the existing pressroom facility, which occupies more than a full city block - prime real estate on Southwest Taylor Street near Providence Park.

Other media companies have outsourced their printing operations. The Chicago Sun-Times, for instance, is printed by the Chicago Tribune.

"This makes smart business sense," said Steve Moss, the president of the Oregonian Media Group. "It allows us to focus our investments on our digital future while relying on a strong local company to print our newspapers."

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive