Printer Donnelley caught in wringer

Printer R.R. Donnelley pushed the send button too soon yesterday — causing Google shares to tumble nearly 10 percent before trading in the search giant’s shares was halted for two-and-half hours.

The earnings release was supposed to come out after the close of markets, but Google blamed Donnelley for filing a draft version hours earlier “without authorization.”

Donnelley, the top Securities and Exchange Commission filing agent for US companies, said it was investigating the premature release.

Later, Donnelley CEO Tom Quinlan told the Wall Street Journal the mistake was due to “human error.”

The fat-finger move was made worse by the fact that it didn’t have the final version of the release. Most embarrassing, the document said, “PENDING LARRY QUOTE,” referring to Google CEO Larry Page.

Still, what really unnerved the market wasn’t the timing but Google’s earnings, which were weaker than expected.

Some observers were baffled by the slip. “When you file documents with the SEC electronically, there are typically multiple firewalls to click through to transmit a document,” said analyst Charles Strauzer.

Burned investors may consider suing Donnelley. But one lawyer told Reuters that it would be hard to make a case. “There’s no fraudulent intent here,” said Reed Kathrein, a lawyer who specializes in corporate fraud.

It isn’t Donnelley’s first brush with controversy. In the 1980s, an employee was convicted of insider trading, using tips from BusinessWeek, which was printed by the company.