Finishing & Screen Printing
Metroland: 15 AlphaLiners Process 3.4 Billion Newspaper Inserts Annually
Thursday 09. April 2009 - With fine zoning right down to individual streets, the Canadian Metroland Group has made a name for itself as the insert specialist. To manage the highly complex inserting and packaging process, Metroland uses 15 AlphaLiners from Muller Martini in seven different plants in metropolitan Toronto and in south/central Ontario.
Fine zoning of newspaper inserts right down to individual streets is the trademark of the Metroland Group, which employs a workforce of 5,000 employees, has its headquarters in Mississauga and belongs to the Canadian Torstar Corporation. “Our recipe for success”, emphasizes Ian Proudfoot, Vice President and Regional Publisher of Metrolands York Region Media Group in Richmond Hill in the province of Ontario, “is based on offering very many zones and thus aligning ourselves totally to our customers needs. On the subject of inserts, we are setting the standards – and they are high standards, too. That is why we had annual rates of increase in newspaper inserts in the past decade of around 8 to 10 percent.”
108 Titles with 164 editions
Metroland publishes not less than 108 mostly weekly community newspapers, with 164 editions, most with controlled circulation. Metroland also publishes 3 dailies with 18 editions. The biggest daily run is at around 2.6 million copies. Last year Metroland newspapers carried in total around 3.4 billion inserts.
Around 25,000 carriers (20,000 youth and 5,000 adults) earn money by delivering the newspaper packages to the readers. “This distribution system, which has been continuously expanded since the early 80’s is”, says Ian Proudfoot, “another important cornerstone of our success.”
Logistical Tour de Force
Before the carriers can begin, however, a logistical tour de force is required in the production of the newspapers. The 108 Metroland papers are produced in not less than ten printing facilities. Metroland also has nine inserting facilities were inserting and packaging is done. Most inserts are printed by outside companies and only some are printed at Metroland.
The average number of inserts per newspaper title is between 20 and 35. But there are some editions which have up to 60 inserts – a highly complex inserting and packaging process. That is why since 2006, in all nine plants, Metroland uses AlphaLiner inserting systems, PrintStack CN 25 bundle makers and TABA route top sheet applicators from Muller Martini -15 machines in total.
“The Perfect Solution”
“We looked at several solutions in 2006 before the first investment phase”, says Barry E. Black, Director of Operations at the York Region Media Group. “The AlphaLiner was exactly what we needed. It is the perfect solution in terms of floor space requirements, bundles and especially for our many zones.” And the fact that it can also process inserts that are larger than the main jacket (which happens often at Metroland), is a further advantage of the AlphaLiner.
The investment in the Muller Martini systems has been more than worth it according to Ian Proudfoot: “The AlphaLiners run very reliably, and thanks to them we have also exceeded economic targets.” Added to that, according to Jamie McDonald, Warehouse Manager/Inserting Operations at the York Region Media Group, the inserting system is easy to operate: “I was trained at the Muller Martini Canada showroom in Concord, and it was very easy to learn the features of the line.”
Up to 2,000 Zones Possible
In theory, Metroland could arrange up to 2,000 zones for its newspapers, which are mostly tabloid size, but a few are also in broadsheet size. “We have the data necessary for this”, says Barry E. Black. In practice though, there is a maximum of only 500 zones. The smallest zone contains between 15 and 25 inserts.
To do this, a perfectly functioning insertion process is required. That is why between the respective zones sometimes only three gripper clamps are empty – followed immediately by the next zone. So during one hour of production 120 zones can be handled. “Naturally, with weekend newspapers the deadline pressure is not quite as intense as with a daily newspaper”, says Jeff Therrien, Distribution/Circulation Supervisor at the York Region Media Group. “Of course, the time slot for the weekly newspapers is also limited.”
“Fine Zoning will Increase”
Pre-inserting is a regular occurrence for the newspapers. The pre-printed sections, tied into bundles and weighing sometimes over 5 pounds, are then delivered together with the newspapers to the carriers who insert the pre-inserted sections by hand into the newspapers.
For Ian Proudfoot there is no doubt that the insert boom will continue: “The trend clearly indicates ever more selective inserting. That is why I am convinced that the demand for even more fine zoning will be increasing in coming years.”