Move Select Production Functions In-House

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct, 2001

Too often, says Michael Weinglass, vice president of manufacturing and production for Easyriders, Inc., magazine executives view the dollars it takes to produce a publication as a cost center. In reality, he says, magazine manufacturing can be a profit center--as long as a title's production director identifies "where he is bleeding money in his workflow," and deals with those spots accordingly. One of the easiest ways to save money, he adds, is to have staffers do some traditionally outsourced functions themselves.

Weinglass suggests moving four specific areas of production in-house: scanning, raster image processing, preflighting digital ads and proofing. Moving those functions in-house means making the investment in a scanner, a RIP, preflight software and a prooferf, respectively. The cost for such equipment, he says, varies. Production directors can purchase a preflighting package and train a staff member on the software for just a few hundred dollars. Or, a magazine manufacturing department can opt to buy a top-of-the-line proofer for a couple thousand dollars. But no matter the cost, Weinglass says, the investment is worth it because a piece of equipment will pay for itself in the long term. After upgrading to a more expensive proofer, for example, Weinglass cut his cost per page from $8 to $1. He estimates that he will make back the cost of the proofer in four months. "The key is to be bold when implementing these kinds of measures," says Weinglass. "But it is okay to go slowly. Production directors should begin by picking out a part of the workflow that they can get their hands around, and then go on from there. Doing these things yourself is really easy once you get started."