In 1874 the Heraut Association transferred the ownership of De Standaard to the Nederlandsche Stoomdrukkerij [Dutch Steam Press] at Amsterdam. The Sunday edition of the paper was subsequently published under the name Zondagsblad van De Standaard (cf. 1872.02). It was possible to take out an independent subscription to this ecclesiastical paper.

Due to illness, Kuyper (then editor in chief of De Standaard) was temporarily replaced as editor of the Zondagsblad from February 13, 1876 to May 27, 1877. When he returned, he expressed his desire to make the two papers entirely independent from one another in the interest of journalistic clarity. As a result, Zondagsblad van De Standaard 6 (1877), no. 165, May 27, 1877 was the final issue of this weekly, which from December 7, 1877 on was published as De Heraut (see 1877.05).

When ownership of De Standaard was transferred to the Dutch Steam Press, J.H. Kruyt (1839–1898) became the publisher of De Standaard. Kuyper was apparently prompted by these events to change publishers himself. Whereas since 1869 he had published primarily with H. de Hoogh in Amsterdam (until April 1874 the publisher of De Standaard and its Sunday edition), from this point up until 1887 he tried to publish as many of his works as possible with J.H. Kruyt. Cf. 1886.14 and 1907.22.