No better investment than in mailroom
Easy to create new revenue sources with Ferag technologies
Revenue generation is the most sought after activity in business and when it comes to the production in print media, postpress processing also offers the most interesting revenue sources. The justification of this proposition was reinforced by Ferag and WRH Marketing at a ‘Mailroom Rally’ in the new L’Imprimerie printing centre in Tremblay, near Paris, which highlighted ten ways to bring added value to the newspaper. SK Khurana, editor, All About Newspapers, who attended this rally, brings in a brief report.
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n newspaper production, there is no phase that offers more structuring opportunities than postpress processing. Today, the options go far beyond the production of classic newspapers. The mailroom of yesteryear with its one-dimensional orientation and tasks that were at best limited to transport, preprint inserting and bundling has given way to an extremely versatile processing centre. Publishers and printers are using new advertising formats and high-value semi-commercial products to tap into additional sources of revenues. Against a backdrop of structural changes in the print market, these business models are gaining in relevance. Technically, they are easy to realize due to the high degree of integration allowed by the Ferag concept. New functions can be added to the basic installation stepwise. Investment in such a system promises high returns and is currently the best possible way for publishing and printing companies to invest their money.
Looking at the postpress processing process as a whole, the ten different sources of new revenue include: newspaper preprints; advertising inserts, so-called free standing inserts (FSI); supplements (TV listings, special-interest magazines, etc); MemoStick (interactive front page advertising); MemoFlag (wrap-around tip-on and booklets for couponing); Spot-On (creative application of inkjet technology); XtraWin (semi-commercials products produced in-house); direct marketing (addressed covers containing advertising supplements); and distribution (cost optimization through the use of suitable planning, regulation and control systems). Each of these revenue sources is an important part of overall advertising income or has the potential to optimise operating costs. The more these functions are used in Ferag systems, the broader the basis on which the publisher and printer operate, the more differentiated the services that they offer to their customers, the better the spread of their income sources, and the higher profits.
Within the context of a ‘Mailroom Rally’, and drawing on solid data that stemmed from day-to-day experience, Ferag and WRH Marketing clearly demonstrated the potential offered by the different added-value services, and where money can be made in the newspaper publishing business. Assuming that the conditions are realistic, an investment in the technology required for utilising a specific added-value process will pay for itself in a very short time frame. The venue for a tour of the added-value scenarios in progressive print media production was provided by France’s most modern Ferag postpress processing line to date, in the new printing centre for the popular Le Figaro daily newspaper, located in Tremblay near Paris.
Enumerating the revenue generation ways during ‘Mailroom Rally’, Guido E Steffen, CEO-WRH Marketing AG conveyed, “There is no better investment than in mailroom. And being committed to ensure better ROI in this segment, Ferag has been making ten to twelve percent investment in R&D to bring in newer products for the industry on regular basis. Inline inserting innovation by Ferag has been continuing since 70s, and several newspaper houses world over are reaping its advantages. Newspapers can print up to 75 percent of pages in advance as pre-print and 25 percent on the real time and then can use inserting system, which will save lot on press investments.” On what is the ideal percentage of investment for mailroom as compared with prepress and press, it was informed that if 1.7 million euro investment is made in printing units and 2.8 million euro for inserting unit, resulting a difference of 1.1 million euro or you can say as additional. But one can get a good return for sure on ad revenues in pre-print which can be much higher, thus guaranteed ROI. Steffen demonstrated all calculations and came out with possibilities of assured returns.
“FSI inserting (free standing inserts) can generate huge business,” Steffen stated further, mentioning, “These inserts are charged per 1000 basis - euro 35 per 1000 (however cannot be as high in India).” He called for earning money additionally with installation of ancillary equipment: no input/consumable cost but only one time investment. Also in offering MemoStick added value, Ferag is working hand-in-hand with advertisers and publishers. Assuming semi- commercial production technologies (XtraWin), one can produce in-house instead of going to contract printers. Notably, while effectively expanding their operation worldwide, Ferag AG has been showing high commitment to the Indian newspaper industry offering a wide range of additional services and products through their newly established subsidiary Ferag India Pvt Ltd (New Delhi). Now, spare parts from Ferag become easily available locally and the service needs of newspapers can be fulfilled promptly. Ferag India can also supply MemoSticks duly printed to publishers in India at surprisingly affordable cost.
With a total investment of 81 million euro, both partners, Le Figaro and the Seregni group of companies, have built a printing centre in Tremblay that has in all respects been conceived along the most modern lines. The goal of the partnership is the production of daily newspapers – Le Figaro amongst other products. On the KBA Cortina newspaper press, publisher can henceforth print newspapers with up to sixty broadsheet pages in four colours throughout. The investors justify their decision to opt for waterless offset technology with the active contribution it makes towards environmental protection, and also their intention to achieve a new level of quality when producing the exclusive supplement Figaro Scope and other special interest newspaper supplements.
At the centre of postpress processing are the two inserting lines, each equipped with two SNT trimming drums and StreamStitch stitching components. The management team at the publisher and printer are set on being the French market’s first ever newspaper producers to grow earnings derived from inserted supplements, achieve highly profitable utilisation of overall capacity with semi-commercial production and the application of new advertising formats like MemoStick, and tap into new revenue sources. With this strategy, the media company is penetrating new markets that so far have received little to no attention in France from newspaper printers. This investment is the first of its kind in France, and will allow L’Imprimerie to build a solid basis for the positive development of its business activities – which are focused on state-of-the-art print media production reflecting the new spirit of the time.
Operational since September 2009 in publisher and printer partnership, the new L’Imprimerie printing centre is equipped with two KBA presses with five towers each, having two folders; two control consoles per press; two copies pick-up stations; and two CtP lines from Kodak with speed up to 200 plates per hour. Apart from printing Le Figaro, the 60- page broad sheet newspaper in ‘Berlin format’, printing of more newspapers and commercial job work are also handled at this facility. “While we have total staff of 100 individuals, but only four persons are deployed at every press one in reel stand and three with printing machines,” informed Gilles Dechamps, director – operations.
Versatility on quality
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he efficiently designed mailroom in the new Le Figaro printing centre, including subscriber lines and palletizing, covers a total area of 4500 sq m. Around 2200 sq m have been set aside for the actual Ferag production lines.
Four UTR conveyor systems run from the two double folder deliveries on the KBA Cortina via matrix switches to the two Ferag lines, which are each equipped with an MSD-2C MultiSertDrum. The matrix switch system allows them to assign products, freely and in online mode, with each of the four UTR conveyor systems to both production lines. Maximum flexibility is brought to route-matched bundling by the option to run production off three UTR conveyors to four MultiStack stackers each.
An exceptional feature of the Ferag production lines is the option to use the inserting system for semi-commercial production. In so doing, the MultiSertDrum takes on a gathering function that in turn allows a cover printed on coated quality paper to be merged in the inserting drum with content pages on newsprint. One StreamStitch stitching component and one SNT trimming drum per line secure the subsequent stitching process and three-side trim on the products, inline.
Materials logistics with intermediate storage and the automatic infeed of preprints to the two MDS-2C drums is handled by MultiDisc technology. For feeding further inserts like advertising brochures or supplements, each of the inserting drums is hooked up to a RollStream with two hoppers. In the interests of the efficient flow of materials, each of the two subscriber lines is also fed via a MultiDisc unwinding station. Two Mariani palletizer robots, supplied and installed by Ferag France, handle the production and distribution of print products during the day.
