The deal covers what the firm describes as "a complete portfolio of print products and services".

Specifically included are the point-of-sale work for more than 450 stores and direct mail print, including club mailings, national leaflet drops and trigger and welcome packs.

"The benchmarking process started in July 2004, and we knew we would need to change in line with Sainsbury's new business goals," said PMS client services director Sue Lawson.

"We identified key factors important to Sainsbury's and tailored our solutions to match," she added.

To this end the firm is introducing an online digital asset management facility to Sainsbury's. It will allow the retailer to track corporate images, artwork and campaigns, which according to Communisis will "contribute to an overall reduction in photography costs and increase brand protection".

The Sainsbury's contract has been with Communisis firm Centurion, which along with Dataform was rebranded as PMS last month, for six years. It's the second extension for Centurion/ PMS following a 40m deal in 2002.

Story by Darryl Danielli