Investment in newspaper mailroom equipment has hit a bit of a wall of late. It's a familiar story of dwindling advertising revenues having a knock-on effect on the sector as a whole, with falling paginations and circulation resulting in fewer kit purchases. This has caused the market to play a ‘wait-and-see' game at the moment. According to Colin Marlow, Ferag sales director at distributor WRH Marketing, companies are maintaining existing equipment and waiting for publishers to recover from the recession before upgrading.
He reckons that the market is shifting towards "semi-commercial" publishing, where publishers are reducing the number of bulk copies printed and moving towards more targeted or personalised inserts as well as pushing content online. As a result, there is more interest in kit that focuses on selective inserting.
Marking targets
Selective inserting allows publishers to target supplements or flyers to specific customers or regions. All that's needed is a carrier sheet or identifier, while sensors make sure each newspaper receives the correct combination of promotional inserts or supplements before being wrapped and addressed. It also allows the customer's address list to be processed as a single run.
"Many of our customers have the facility to selectively insert," adds Marlow. "However, we have found that most of the UK publications prefer to target the whole circulation with the same inserts. But as we move into more diverse products we will find that the door-drop market will demand selective inserting."
Marlow believes that in the future, growth in the market will come from diversification. "Publications will become more bespoke and target specific groups of the population. This, added to the semi-commercial aspects, could bring new publications to the market."
Regardless of which direction the market is heading in, the backbone of a newspaper mailroom is the conveyor. Most conveyors used are installed overhead because of limited space and a need for access. Designing the layout is key; the modern mailroom needs to have a smooth workflow.
With conveyors, a machine's exact configuration needs to take into account the number of products being handled, their thickness and format and the way customers supply their mailing lists. Most inserters and stackers offer the option of both offline and inline operations.
According to Marlow, prospective buyers should make sure the system is expandable. They should also look at whether it's possible to add a polybagging system.
WHAT'S NEW IN NEWSPAPER MAILROOM
? Guardian News and Media announced it is to halt bulk distributions, cutting thousands from The Guardian and The Observer’s official circulation figures. Traditionally, bulk copies have been used to boost ABC figures to attract advertisers and as a way of sampling to new readers in locations such as hotels and airlines
? Last month, newspaper publisher NWN Media became the first UK company to order the Ferag EasySert System, which was launched at Ifra Expo last year. Ferag’s EasySert includes JetFeeder hoppers and a UTR conveyor system. It runs at speeds of up to 25,000 copies an hour and can handle sizes ranging from 300x210mm to 310x450mm
? Mailing equipment manufacturer Buhrs was acclaimed ‘Royal’ by the Netherlands royal family last month. Geke Faber, the mayor of Zaanstad, where the manufacturer has its headquarters, bestowed the accolade on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix in a presentation ceremony to chief executive Joost van der Klooster
