Background
As the world ’s oldest printing and publishing house, the experience of Cambridge University Press (CUP)in the production of books is unrivalled. CUP is unusual in that it brings together within one organisation the activities of publisher, printer and distributor. This multiple structure dates back to the 16th century. The organisation employs 350 people on the printing side and 450 on the publishing side and they are based in the heart of Cambridge, close to the authors of many of their academic publications.
CUP operates on a global scale, actively selling its products in some 200 countries. Despite some internal issues between the different sides of the business a few years ago, the total umbrella structure has in fact enabled CUP’s management to take a broader view of the whole book business. By reassessing every aspect of their publishing, printing and distribution and by benchmarking themselves against world-class companies, not only in their own sector, CUP’s directors were able to address the issues successfully and develop a totally new strategy for book publishing and production.
Issue 1: Declining academic sales
Sales of CUP’s academic titles are generated throughout the world, with the bulk being sold in North America, whilst virtually all these titles are actually manufactured in Cambridge and have to be shipped abroad. The declining sales of academic monographs, coupled with the fact that most sales are made in the first year of publishing, meant that the print runs required for litho printing were becoming less and less viable, as more titles stayed permanently in stock. However, it is the policy of Cambridge University to publish certain titles, even if demand is not high.
Issue 2: Inability to increase the number of titles globally and simultaneously
With the advent of new distribution channels (e.g.Amazon.com) and with academic sales generated throughout the world, CUP was running an increasing risk of becoming uncompetitive in global terms. The organisation needed to find cost-effective solutions that would enable them to publish worldwide and simultaneously, without compromising quality.
Issue 3: Cash tied up in stock and high returns
CUP has 2,500 new titles and 150 journals to produce each year and approximately 20,000 publications in print at any one time. The huge amount of cash tied up in warehousing stock was placing an ever—increasing strain on the company’s cashflow. Despite the growing demand for short-run work, the publishing model being used to assess costs was at least 15 years old and no longer reflected the true costs of a title, which typically might stay in stock for ten years.
The challenges
Under the then existing organisation in the UK, all copy for litho printing was going through a number of steps in the pre-press area, which varied depending on the form in which the copy had arrived. From a rather slow pre-press reading system, through manual checking, or from scanning and text setting in the composition department, all copy was stored in a digital archiving system called Asset Store. From there, copy was transferred on to litho plates using traditional methods, or directly from computer to plate. Once printed, titles were finished and bound in the bindery department. For overseas, titles were either printed in Cambridge and then distributed, or printing was outsourced from the overseas locations. In both cases, publication dates overseas might be anything up to 6 months behind publication date in the UK.
CUP’s directors had a global vision of the way they wanted the business to develop and decided to review all the costs related to the life cycle of the book, from reception of the original copy through to production, distribution and storage. They were very conscious of the need to find a way of matching production to the sales profile of the product. Production in the future would have to be global and simultaneous for a viable cost. Technology was clearly the key to realising their vision, so they decided to look for a partner that could support their strategy for global manufacturing and with whom they could share their business goals.
The choice for Océ
CUP’s chosen technology partner had to provide a high standard of digital print quality, a proven ability to produce short run work cost-effectively and the necessary software tools to assist in automating the whole workflow process and reduce administrative costs. The chosen partner would also have to be able to provide a global manufacturing capability, so that common systems and the same quality of product could be guaranteed worldwide. It took two years of assessment and testing for CUP to select their new partner, before finally deciding that Océ could meet all their requirements. The partnership was initiated and the system chosen was an Océ DemandStream 8090 printer with integrated finishing capability, together with Océ’s patented PRISMA software.
The Océ solution
The introduction of the Océ system was the beginning of major changes in the CUP operation. A whole new print operation, Cambridge Digital, was set up with great care and skilled staff from across the organisation were specially selected and trained to manage the new facility. A number of parameters, such as paper type and size, cased books only, were introduced for production on the 8090, to enable printing of different titles to be bundled wherever possible. Publishers could decide on the production method, litho or digital, depending on their requirements.
The digital files stored in Asset Store are now either run out to plate (CTP) for litho or sent directly as PDF’s to Océ’s BookStore for digital printing. Océ BookStore analyses which book block imposition to use, ceates a job ticket and puts the file into readable format. The job tickets containing the PDF are then double checked against the instructions from Asset Store. Océ BookStore is a key element of CUP’s digital operation. Because the software is modular, CUP are developing new building blocks as necessary, customising profiles for particular customers and linking Océ BookStore to CUP’s MIS system.
A Hunkeler cutter and MBO gatherer are integrated with the 8090 digital production system, to reduce handling and increase productivity. Turnaround from the outset has been set at 4 weeks for any title, which is the same as for litho, while prices have been set at 10% above litho. This approach is deliberate, to ensure that no difference in service is perceived, although the turnaround time on digital production will clearly reduce, not least because the 8090 is currently running one shift and this can always be extended to meet increased demand.
Benefit 1: Time saving
The 8090’s ability to handle multiple short runs, coupled with Océ BookStore’s efficiency in automating pre-press administration and production management, are already enabling more titles to be published faster.
Benefit 2: New cost economies—digital first
run printing
CUP’s strategic reassessment of the cost of a title over its whole life cycle, now means that first runs can be produced cost-effectively. Previously, it was relatively easy to cost justify the digital production of out-of-print titles, but first runs were not considered viable for digital. Now, a first run of under 600 (i.e.below the economic threshold for litho) is printed digitally and cost-effectively, subsequent quantities can be printed as and when required, in runs as low as 10. Editors are now getting more product for the same money and they have the print quality they need, coupled with greater flexibility.
Benefit 3: Reduction in stock levels
Already, stock levels are significantly down and some of the risk of overstocking has been eliminated. More titles are being shifted over to digital production and more authors are being brought in. The “dead money” previously tied up in stock is now being transformed into cash available in the business for further development.
Looking ahead
CUP and Océ are working together to further improve the services of Cambridge Digital. Says Richard Weston, Digital Printing Supervisor at CUP, “One of the next steps will be to introduce digital colour printing for book covers. We also want to increase the number of titles available at any one time” David Royal, Business Director for Books at CUP, says “The driver for introducing digital production and the development of the partnership with Océ, was a strategic business view, not merely a question of financial investment. We see our Cambridge model as the blueprint for future developments overseas, where we will print titles locally wherever we need them. Most important of all, however, is that on top of all the other benefits, Océ’s digital system has enabled us to maintain our historic reputation for quality.” |
Solution at Cambridge University Press
