Berlin Becomes the Center of the Newspaper World

People in the newspaper industry from around the world will be gathering at the IFRA World Publishing Expo & Digital Content Expo at Berlin’s ExpoCenter City from this Tuesday until Thursday. Taking “Finishing 4.0: Advanced inserting, zoning and workflow optimization” as our motto, Muller Martini will be presenting economical and forward-looking solutions for processing larger volumes of inserts efficiently, even in smaller zones.

The New York Times began its ascent from a local daily to a newspaper of the highest international renown with the slogan “All the news that’s fit to print.” In the current digital age, the newspaper’s slogan would have to be reformulated as “All the background that’s fit to print.” That’s because news nowadays very rarely appears for the first time in print; instead, it is published around the world on the internet in a matter of seconds. But the best way to learn about the background behind the news is still from printed publications.

This is one enormous advantage of newspapers. Another is their strong local connection – precisely the area where social media do not shine. I interpret Warren Buffet’s recent investments in dozens of US newspapers – most of them in smaller cities – as a hopeful sign that the newspaper industry, which has without question been under pressure, is not entirely down and out yet.

Over the last few years, Warren Buffet has bought dozens of newspapers in the US – mostly in smaller cities.

So I see some rays of hope on the horizon as the newspaper world prepares to gather this Tuesday through Thursday at the IFRA World Publishing Expo & Digital Content Expo at Berlin’s ExpoCenter City. It will be my fourth time at IFRA and at each of the previous expos, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easily and quickly you can get an ideal overview of the entire newspaper market at this compact trade fair thanks to the manageable number of exhibitors. Because visitors can get from one booth to another very quickly, they have more time for networking – both with their colleagues and with machine manufacturers.

Networking will surely also be a focus at our booth (F.10 in Hall 21a). With the motto “Finishing 4.0: Advanced inserting, zoning and workflow optimization,” we will be presenting economical and forward-looking solutions for processing larger volumes of inserts efficiently, even in smaller zones.

This is because, despite all of the digital advertising channels, newspapers remain popular, with a trajectory that continues to rise and numbering among the most successful print products for years. The booming insert market represents both an enormous opportunity and a challenge for producers of weekly newspapers and advertising journals, which continue to be successful especially in Germany – and is surely one reason why so many German visitors attend the IFRA.

This is because in order to be able to process numerous inserts in increasingly smaller distribution zones efficiently, networking the individual work steps becomes increasingly important. This results in significantly higher logistics expenses for production operations. Innovative and creative solutions with respect to automation, seamless reporting and logistics are needed in order to be able to optimize the workflow.

The market for newspaper inserts is booming.

With the motto “Finishing 4.0: Advanced inserting, zoning and workflow optimization,” Muller Martini is presenting economical and forward-looking solutions for inserting newspaper supplements.

As “your strong partner.” our mailroom experts will explain how you can strengthen your position in the insert market with the help of an optimized workflow in line with the Finishing 4.0 philosophy. Thanks to intelligent networking with Connex 4.0 and the innovative inserting system, you can produce the rising volume of inserts efficiently and effectively, even in small zones. You will be able to see for yourself how the high-performance feeders from Muller Martini can be used to print a wide variety of inserts seamlessly.

We have another highlight at our booth especially for you. Virtual reality glasses will take you on a virtual tour of the most modern mailroom in the world. See in 3D how more than a billion inserts are processed efficiently with two newspaper inserting systems each year with the help of workflow optimizations.

Stop by the Muller Martini booth and try on a pair of virtual reality glasses for a virtual tour of the most modern mailroom in the world.

One hot topic of discussion between newspaper producers and my Muller Martini colleagues will surely be the general trend on the newspaper market. It will be interesting to see how companies are dealing with the market trend of consolidation and whether there will be (more) partnerships or mergers in the newspaper printing business.

Successful life cycle management of the machines, as provided by Muller Martini’s ^MMServices, will surely also be a topic of conversation at the booth. This ensures the long-term cost effectiveness of the systems, optimizes operating costs and extends the lifetime of the equipment through manageable investments. In addition, extensive service support guarantees first-class product quality, major added value and long-term profitability.

Find out for yourself at our booth. Stop by and see how Muller Martini is underscoring its strong position in the newspaper market. I look forward to seeing you there!