Future Sources meets march of magazine subs with million-dollar mailing machine

A mailing house has met the growth in magazine subscriptions by purchasing the "largest, smartest, fastest plastic wrapping machine in Australia" from Salmat.

Sydney-based Future Sources has lifted its wrapping and bundling rate from 9,500 to 20,000 magazines per hour since installing a Sitma 950-E three months ago, said managing director Mark Sayle.

The system is more automated than the company's 10-year old Sitma 750 and Sitma 905. The number of simultaneous inserts that can be done has climbed from six to 11, while the 950-E also has dual stackers and can do automatic bundling.

The  system, which is nearly 30 metres long, can also perform what Sayle called "intelligent mailing" – putting different inserts into different magazines on the same run.

It can also batch, glue and do inkjet printing directly on to the magazine, he added.

"The technology has come a long way in the past 10 years. They have gone from purely being mechanical machines to being… far more computerised," he said.

"The new machine is more than double the speed of the old one. Turnaround times have improved with more efficiency of labour due to the technology which also then flows back to clients."

Sayle wouldn't put a dollar figure on the investment, but said it was less than the $1.6 million he heard Salmat had paid.

He said it proved Future Sources' "commitment to being the largest magazine subscription and plastic wrapping supplier and mailer in NSW".

Future Sources' clients include printing, publishing, pharmaceutical and financial services firms, added Sayle.

Business development manager Derek Holt said Future Sources expected to benefit from the rise in magazine subscriptions.

He told ProPrint that publishers now regarded subscriptions as an "untapped marketing opportunity", after having focused on retail sales for decades.

Sayle said the 950-E generally handled runs of about 10,000, but that runs of 400,000 were not uncommon.

"Sitma for us has always been the benchmark. The machine does require more attention than previous models, but it's worth it. Wherever you look on this machine there's technology-plus," he said.

Click here to read more install stories.