As an editor, what do I know about manufacturing? Well, apart from the factories I’ve worked in, I consider MMG Publishing a manufacturing organisation. The only difference is raw materials: paper and ink, rather than metal and plastic.
We have design, purchasing, manufacturing, sales and distribution departments. Engineers design products using CAD systems. We use DTP. Engineers digitally twin their products. Publishers do this via CMS and page turning applications. Engineers work to build resilient, responsible raw material supply chains. Publishers have embraced sustainably sourced paper for decades. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was founded in 1993, that’s 31-years ago.
OEMs are reshoring to domestic manufacturers. Print publishers already outsource to local specialist printers using machinery optimised for magazine production. Like lathes and milling machines, printing equipment is electric, so a steady increase in renewable electricity means an equivalent decline in embodied carbon. Engineers strive for JIT
and traceability; there is nothing more just-in-time than a magazine print run. Before distribution begins, the value in every copy of a printed MMG publication is underpinned by a requested, ABC audited circulation, minimising waste and returns. That’s traceability.
In use, printed magazines are effective, efficient, durable, reliable and maintenance free, the same hallmarks of any well-engineered product. They also encourage reuse via pass- on readership.Many manufacturers are only now addressing recycling ahead of stricter regulation. Print publishers, on the other hand, are feeding a circular recycling process, first recorded in Japan in 1031.
I think it’s fair to say the whole MMG Publishing team can be considered manufacturing experts.