When the Chronicle signed a deal with Canadian company Transcontinental Inc. to print its papers in Fremont (thus shuttering its own presses and eliminating hundreds of in-house jobs), it was heralded by the parties in question as a win-win situation.

These days, however, Transcontinental might be reconsidering.

According to the San Francisco Business Journal, after the company opened a $200 million, 338,000-square-foot plant and signed on with the Chronicle, Transcontinental's president of printing products and services, Francois Oliver, said, "Believe me, we're partnering with winners!"

These days, not so much. The nosedive of the entire newspaper industry threatens to take the local printing operation with it (although Transcontinental boasts of a backup plan should the Chronicle fold).

Still, the owner of the Dallas Morning News just shut down a huge printing plant in order to consolidate operations, and the Montreal Gazetter recently reported that Transcontinental "production has been declining steadily for the past three years as they adjust to sinking U.S. demand."

At least the Canadians have prescription-drug exports to fall back on.