中文A Jersey-based printer has placed a strategic bet on the enduring strength of print magazines and books, installing a pair of Horizon finishing systems that its managing director says will let the company chase a market many had written off as declining. Mailmate Print, based on the Channel Island of Jersey, took delivery of a Horizon AFC564A cross folder and a Horizon VAC-1000 collating tower in September, both supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS) and backed by a grant from the Government of Jersey.
The investment is deliberately targeted. Managing director Neil Faudemer is blunt about the opportunity he sees: larger, thicker magazines and book work that, he argues, still has room to grow even as the broader print market contracts in other segments. “We think there is a market opportunity, especially for larger, thicker magazines,” Faudemer said. “We believe there is potential for growth in both printed magazines and books, and the folder and additional tower for our collator will enable us to respond better to that opportunity.”
For a company that turns over around 2.5 million pounds and employs 22 people, the purchase is significant. Mailmate Print received a grant from the Government of Jersey to support the acquisition of the brand-new equipment, and Faudemer is clear about why that mattered. “This investment keeps work on the island. It helps us to compete. It benefits the company and the local economy.” In a small island market, keeping production local is both a commercial and a civic argument.
The operational case is equally concrete. With the new systems running, Mailmate Print expects to cut its production time by between 20 percent and 30 percent, thanks to easier set-up and faster changeovers. The AFC564A is an automated cross-knife folder with set-up via LCD touchscreen prompts and the ability to store up to 200 jobs, running at a maximum speed of 40,000 cycles per hour. The VAC-1000 ten-bin collating tower handles up to 9,900 sets per hour across a range of applications, adding the capacity the company needed to assemble magazines and books more efficiently.
Faudemer’s reasoning for choosing Horizon again is rooted in familiarity and trust. “We already have Horizon equipment and, because we are an island operation, we like to do as much as we can in-house. We know we can trust Horizon systems to be reliable,” he said, praising the build quality and the technology. He added that a strong supplier relationship is “more important today than it has ever been,” noting Mailmate’s long track record with both Horizon and IFS, including the quality of training, which matters because most of the company’s staff have been with the business for more than 15 years.
That point about multi-skilling is telling. “Gone are the days when one person would be responsible for running a particular system,” Faudemer observed, explaining that the team now cross-trains employees so the business is not exposed if a single operator is unavailable. The new folder and collator slot into a production floor that also runs a Sakurai LED-UV litho press and Xerox digital print technology, giving Mailmate a blended analogue and digital capability from two nearby island sites, one dedicated to wide-format.
Established in 1983, Mailmate Print has spent four decades building a commercial print, mailing and clothing business, and the latest investment is best read as a confident wager on print’s resilience in specific, demanding applications. The company is not chasing volume for its own sake; it is positioning to win the thicker, more complex magazine and book work where digital print alone struggles to compete on cost and finish.
For the wider industry, Mailmate’s move is a reminder that decline is rarely uniform. While certain commodity segments shrink, premium and specialist magazine and book production remains a viable, even growing, niche for printers willing to invest in the right finishing. Government support, in this case a Jersey grant, can tip the economics of such investments, keeping capability onshore rather than offshoring it.
The 20 to 30 percent production-time reduction is the metric that matters most operationally. Faster changeovers mean the company can accept shorter deadlines and tighter schedules without adding shifts or headcount, protecting both margin and service levels. In a market where clients expect speed, that flexibility is a competitive moat.
Intelligent Finishing Systems, which supplied the equipment, has long been a key conduit for Horizon’s post-press technology in the UK and Ireland, and Mailmate’s repeat custom underscores how dealer relationships anchor capital decisions in the finishing segment. For island businesses especially, where logistics and service responsiveness are magnified, that local partnership is as valuable as the steel itself.
Ultimately, Mailmate Print’s double Horizon buy is a story about conviction: conviction that physical magazines and books still command value, and conviction that the right finishing kit, backed by reliable local support and a multi-skilled team, can capture that value. As Faudemer puts it, the technology is impressive, the relationship is excellent, and the work stays on the island. For a 22-person printer, that is a strategy worth folding.
