University of Exeter

The University of Exeter publish an annual magazine, known as Exeter Magazine, which is sent to all alumni and supporters of the University. The publication has a mailing circulation of 53,000 copies and consists of the main magazine and a letterhead, which is then personalised, fulfilled into a printed envelope and mailed out to 41,000 UK addresses, with the remaining 5,000+ copies being mailed out internationally.

In 2019 Belmont Press took part in an Invitation to Tender for, and were subsequently awarded the contract to print, Exeter Magazine. The publication is A4 in size and consists of 52 PUR bound pages. We retained the contract to print our second edition in May 2020.

• The University required an outer cover which made an impact, specifically soft touch laminate.
• Lamination can be seen as not environmentally friendly.
• Eco / green laminate options can be price prohibitive.
• Lamination requires an extra machine make-ready which can impact delivery schedule.
• Some of the University data was known to be obsolete.
• The address on the envelope needed to be matched with the corresponding letterhead.
• The drop deadline was a no fail date.
• A priority postage was required which, including the VAT, can be costly.

Belmont Press put forward our Sapphire soft touch in-line coating as a solution in place of lamination.

• The coating is applied on the press, in-line with the printing.
• It does not require a second machine process.
• It is completely recyclable and is more cost effective than lamination.

Our mailing solutions facilitated the following:

• Undertaking a full data cleanse prior to processing.
• Camera-matching the carrier sheet and envelope to ensure they corresponded.

The result was a success. The magazine cover had the tactile feel that the University of Exeter required and all magazines were printed, fulfilled and mailed out on time and on budget.