Tintin Cartoon Loses Longstanding Printer Fri Jun 28,10:35 AM ET
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Tintin, the cartoon reporter whose globetrotting adventures have entertained generations of readers, has lost his longstanding French-language printer, Casterman Imprimerie.
The printer, located in the southern Belgian town of Tournai, said on Friday it had filed for bankruptcy after failing to make a profit amid growing debts since its ties to the editorial house of the same name were cut in 1999.
Casterman Imprimerie had been the exclusive printer of French editions of Tintin's chronicles since his first adventure to Russia in 1929.
It printed about one million copies of the Herge's Tintin books in French every year -- a third of the total worldwide annual print run in about 50 languages.
But Tintin, who always embarks on his latest adventure with his loyal dog Milou (Snowy) by his side, is unlikely to disappear from book stores.
The editorial house, Casterman Editions, which has exclusive rights to the Tintin series, had extra print runs made because of the printer's financial troubles.
"We stocked up to avoid any problems," said France Moline, production director at Casterman Editions, adding that it was considering its options in finding another printer.
Casterman Imprimerie officials were unavailable for comment, but one of them told local RTBF radio that it was unable to compete against growing competition in Belgium.
Casterman was split in two in 1999 when France's Flammarion bought the editorial division, Casterman Editions. Flammarion was later bought by Italy's Rizzoli Corriere della Sera.
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