Will the printed word die anytime soon? Hearst Corp. is betting it won’t. The owner of the Chronicle (as well as lots of money-making magazines and TV stations) is plunking down $60 million to buy a new press for its Albany, N.Y., Times Union newspaper. Why does that matter to anyone in the Bay Area? The Chronicle, which lost about $1 million a week from 2000 to 2006, has signed a contract with Canadian printer Transcontinental to take over its printing 11 months. Transcon is building a 338,000-square-foot plant on Kato Road in Fremont. Construction is under way and Transcon is recruiting workers.