“We are continuously looking for ways to bring added value to our readers and advertisers,” said Tim Bulley, Publishing Director at Haymarket. “St Ives not only offered print quality which leapt of the page and felt more in keeping with the beautiful cars that we feature, but also a broader range of services than those normally associated with magazine printers. We liked the one-stop-shop approach from St Ives that includes everything from prepress to circulation fulfilment, with the potential to extend to data management and subscription campaigns.”
Classic & Sports Car has been published in the UK since 1982 and claims to be the world’s best selling classic car magazine. The current ABC circulation is 72,825 copies making it one of the top three biggest selling motoring monthlies in the UK. Its pagination ranges from 240 to 360 pages. It is now printed at St Ives using mainly Lithoman lV presses for the text sections and a Komori System 38, 6-unit press with inline UV capabilities for the cover. To ensure image ‘lift’, 65gsm UPM Ultra and 170gsm Finesse Gloss are used for the text and cover sections respectively.
Stuart White, Group Production Manager said, “Magazine publishing is all about squeezing the production window so that the editorial team has a longer time to meet the monthly challenge of great content and vibrant design. The shorter production window comes not only from the technology employed but also the efficiencies derived from single sourcing and the dedicated customer service we received from the St Ives team.
“It was refreshing to see everyone in the plant take a huge interest in the project. It was clear that the entire team was not only well briefed but also communicated the details of the job between departments.”
This level of commitment was evidenced by the smooth transition of the title to St Ives from the previous printer. “The title moved very quickly and seamlessly from my point of view and the end result is excellent,” confirms Stuart. “Having a wide range of services under one roof will bring benefits in time and potentially cost savings. Additionally St Ives has other capabilities and creative ideas on which we can build, such as personalization and other subscription-based initiatives.”
James Elliot, Group Editor, commented, “We are delighted to have rejoined St Ives after several years’ break and its first issue demonstrated all the quality and professionalism that we came to associate with the company in the past. They are a great team to work with.”
St Ives is pleased to be working with a publishing team that has such enthusiasm for its publication,” concludes Andrew Clay, Group Sales Director at St Ives. “We look forward to a long and creative relationship with continued improvements to production quality of Classic & Sports Car together with a partnership approach to circulation management and subscription increases.”
