Step up to new inserting capacity

With more than 300 titles, including 17 dailies, and a weekly readership of almost 14 million, Newsquest Media Group, owned by Gannett UK, is the UK's second largest regional newspaper publisher. Investing in Ferag's RollSert technology will further boost the groups market position and provide new opportunities for readers and advertisers. Its subsidiary in Brighton, Sussex, will be one of the first UK production plants to install Ferag's latest generation RollSert inserting technology which is able to handle any circulation size as well as a high number of supplements and other value added products. Newsquest Sussex prints two daily editions of The Argus, Brighton's regional newspaper, as well as other Newsquest group titles and third-party contract work. As with most regional newspaper printers, Newsquest Sussex has experienced an ever-increasing demand for stitched and trimmed products to provide supplements and other advertising add-ons designed to make titles more attractive to customers. Ian Hunter, group print manager at Newsquest Sussex, explains that during the past five years, three major factors have triggered the decision to invest in new inserting equipment: the increasing demand for colour, the call for online inserting to provide value added products and the need to replace some current equipment, including the older belt-system technology installed at Newsquest Sussex. Running a GOSS HT60 press, Newsquest Sussex went through a two-year intense research and analysis period during which it tested suitable equipment from all four major mailroom suppliers. 'We supplied a very specific brief to the mailroom suppliers and eventually concluded that Ferag, with its RollSert technology, offers a modular and flexible design which is ideal for the company's ambitions and future operations,' continues Hunter. Importantly, the move to online inserting will lead to cost savings and improvement in efficiency. Says Mr Hunter: 'Up to now, we've had a couple of newspapers for which we hand-inserted. We would get an army of staff in to insert supplements manually which, for obvious reasons, is not the most efficient way of doing it. However, the biggest problem is the time it takes to hand-insert so once the Ferag equipment is up and running, we'll see huge improvements in productivity and cost savings. The plan is to move straight into online inserting for our Newsquest Sussex titles as well as other Group publications.' Ferag's RollSert will provide Ian and his team with the ability to insert current jobs more efficiently and at the same time, provide more opportunities for inserting pre-printed property sections and guides. Due to RollSert's flexibility, Newsquest Sussex will be able to handle a vast amount of large leaflets, CDs or large paginated products. 'We wanted to keep some of our existing mailroom equipment, including some conveyors and stackers, hence the flexibility of Ferag's inserting equipment was key to us; it can easily be integrated into existing production lines,' mentions Mr Hunter. During the two year decision-making process prior to contract signing, Mr Hunter and his team also had to consider the tight deadlines to which they have to conform. 'The Argus, for example, is printed twice a day and if you consider the speed of some of our equipment, we needed total flexibility in the inserting line design so we could run different formats over any combination of stackers or into a drum. 'Additionally, RollSert produces in offline mode, independent from the press, Ferag offered this type of flexibility. Naturally, Ferag became our number one choice, in particular because it was able to offer a competitive price. To top it all, Ferag was the only manufacturer providing a turn-key solution which encompasses everything from complete installation to after-sales support.' Understandably, as a company that has not worked with online inserting equipment before, appropriate training was a key element in Ferag's proposal to Newsquest Sussex. 'There is always a learning curve for staff when installing new technology. Therefore we were extremely pleased when Ferag offered training and support for our machine operators. Thanks to its compact design, the RollSert system is easy to understand, user-friendly and offers very straightforward operating. 'Upgrading our mailroom means that we'll be able to take on more contract work in the future and provide value added products to readers and advertisers. We are very excited to have been given the opportunity to work with this cutting-edge technology,' concludes Mr Hunter. In addition, the Ferag installation at Newsquest Sussex will also comprise four MultiStack units integrating UTR conveyor system technology for differentiated bundle formation. Ferag's systems for post-press processing in the newspaper and commercial printing industry are supplied in the UK and Ireland through WRH Marketing UK Ltd.