Emap cuts production and paper costs with 'radical changes'

Manufacturing director Richard Hunt joined paper merchant Denmaur to stress the importance of "optimum manufacturing efficiency" as the way to overcome increasing paper prices.

"High paper prices and mill closures signalled a potentially unstable time ahead," said Hunt. "We tried to downgrade specific titles due to a significant drop in advertising revenues."

His solution was "back-to-back printing" across the portfolio of 13 weeklies and 12 monthlies, plus supplements.

The publisher consolidated press days on weekly and monthly titles. "Sections are printed back-to-back in one run with only one makeready on the same stock," said Hunt.

He added that all titles would be a uniform A4 size, and would use the same text and cover stock printed on the same press days.

"We're maximising print efficiencies, minimising grammages, minimising reel sizes, bulk purchasing, reducing makereadies and plate changes with the environmental benefits of paper and ink reduction," Hunt added.

Denmaur sales director Julian Townsend used the show to advise printers on how to get around managing the impact of the price increases and falls in global paper capacity. 

"You need to use the right paper type, paper weight, print process and print location. You need to bring these into a more significant focus," said Townsend.

As an example, he said magazine publishers and print buyers could also consider inserting lightweight sections. "It started in a cheeky way of putting lightweight stock in the back of magazines, but people have not even noticed, except those who were in the know."