Shed Notices

In the letter I sent to all members on the back of the address carrier sheet used to send out the Festiniog Guide, I referred to changes that we were making to printing and distribution of SMT & Bulletin. These swung into action on Thursday afternoon 12th November, after Warners’ Group Publications Subscription department created the address carrier sheets used to send out the November editions of SMT & Bulletin, and Warners Midlands plc (a sister company on the same site in Bourne, Lincs, UK), printed and later distributed the package. Warners Midlands was setup in 1926 and Group Publications was setup in the 80’s. Technical Director Mark Rennie and I were present to see the first pages of SMT roll off the press. Here’s the press which was used – what you’re looking at is where the finished sheets are stacked. Note the 12700 top right in the picture – it was at full speed when this was taken.

I’d seen during an earlier visit how the individual pages of SMT or Bulletin are transferred to the plates used to print pages in multiple, in our case the front and back of eight pages of SMT on a single sheet of gloss paper. Eight plates are needed, two per printed side of each set of pages being printed, times four for each colour. This supports the four colour offset printing process used for our magazines. The pictures below shows a used plate carrying traces of yellow ink, about to be replaced by the clean new plate behind and above it.

Mark has a print background so understood how the rest of the process works, but even he was impressed with how quickly some parts could be completed compared with the environment in which he formerly worked. And the speed was impressive. The sheet fed press was running at 12,700 cut sheets per hour at full speed, meaning that the first set of 16 pages (4,700 cut sheets in total) ran off in next to no time, the plates were changed for the next set of 16 pages and off it went again. Below is a short video showing sheets rolling off the press which gives a good idea of what the press looks like at speed.

The press monitors output constantly to ensure that pages are printed to the same close tolerance. Nevertheless, sheets are removed periodically for inspection by the press Minder/operator with the human eye – this show Mark and me looking at one such sheet with the press in the background.

Printed sheets are stacked and as the ink is still wet when the sheet emerges from the press, a controlled amount of fine (20 micron granules) Spray Powder is blown on each sheet to separate it from its neighbour. They are then left for a couple of hours to dry completely before being moved to binding elsewhere in the building. This picture shows the first such stack of sheets – eight double sided pages of SMT.

One final point – the press prints both sides of each sheet of paper, which is cut off a huge reel as it enters the press. Each sheet is then turned upside down half way through its travel down the press (by something called a perfector drum – we were shown a video to explain how it is used), so that the opposite side can be printed. All this as 12,700 sheets per hour – amazing.

The binding and packaging processes, which include uniting the magazines with the carrier sheet, took on Friday morning 13th followed by collection by Royal Mail later the same day. Mark and I weren’t able to be there to watch this so the team at Warners took a couple of additional pictures which show the binding process, where the individual pages of the magazine come together in order and are stitched with staples. Most UK addresses have already received the package and overseas mailings are on their way by Air Mail.

Adding the individual sheets to SMT

The finished article

Moving printing and distribution to Warners wasn’t and isn’t part of subscription management, but it’s highly convenient to have three requirements satisfied in one place and we have reduced the Association’s costs by doing this, especially printing cost, where the reduction is substantial. Royal Mail is about to increase UK postage costs and we don’t yet know whether we can contain these within the current membership fees, but if postage hadn’t increased then we’re almost certain that the changing the way we manage subscriptions and at the same time print and distribute SMT & Bulletin would have been cost neutral for the Association.

Finally, I’d like to thank Collette Smith (subscriptions) and Paul Evans (print & distribution) and their teams for helping us with this change. Mark and I have been impressed with the knowledge and professionalism, flexibility and friendliness of everyone we’ve met or worked with. Warners are two businesses with over 420 people working in both companies, where it seems as though everyone knows everyone else. It feels like we’ve made the right choices for the Association.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

Preparations for publication of November SMT and Bulletin through Warners are almost complete. Printing and distribution are scheduled for the end of next week, meaning that members will start receiving their magazines from W/C 16th November onwards. As usual, the reverse side of the address carrier sheet used to mail the package will provide you with an opportunity to review your data. The format is the same as in previous years, but with the move of subscription management to Warner Group Publications, the place that you supply changes to has changed, so please follow the instructions on the form. Great care has gone into migration and subsequent review of the data, but I nevertheless strongly recommend that you review it to confirm accuracy and completeness.

Please also note that a Direct Debit mandate is included for UK residents wishing to renew their membership for another year in 2016. If you choose to use this facility, please note that the payment will not be requested from your bank account until the start of the new subscription year, i.e. 1st March 2016. Also, like any Direct Debit, it can be cancelled by you at any time. I hope that many of you will find this new facility convenient and useful.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

The list of Frequently Asked Questions about the changes to subscription management, as mentioned on the address carrier sheet with your copy of the Modellers’ Guide to the Festiniog Railway, is now available. It will also be included in the November Bulletin.

Click here to download the FAQ.

I am pleased to advise that the Modellers’ Guide to the Festiniog Railway plus the Help and Advice DVD, as one package, are scheduled for collection by Royal Mail from our mailing house today. Those being delivered to UK addresses will as usual be sent first class and those going to non-UK addresses will be sent by air mail. UK residents can expect to start receiving their packages from tomorrow onwards, but overseas deliveries will take longer and vary by country.

There is an important message for all members concerning changes to subscription management on the back of the address carrier sheet used to deliver the package. Your attention is drawn to this letter using what we hope is an unmistakable red banner containing bold white text on the front cover of the carrier sheet, just below the mailing address. I ask all members please to spend time reading and digesting the letter and its contents.

You will see that the final paragraph of the letter commits to a frequently asked questions list being made available on our web site and in November Bulletin. I unfortunately am experiencing a severe eye infection which is limiting my ability to type, so whilst I have started writing this, it will be a few days before this appears on our web site. I very much hope that this will be available during next week, subject to sufficient improvement to my vision. My ability to read and respond to emails is also limited, so please bear with me pending a return to what I hope will be normal operation.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

I’m very pleased to announce that after a long wait, the Modellers’ Guide to the Festiniog Railway, which focuses on its early years, goes to print today. It’s taken longer than anyone wanted, volunteer editor Andrew Charman especially, to get this out, but I’m sure that this 84 page guide will be greatly appreciated when it arrives and that we’ll again be singing his praises for a high quality publication. The printing and distribution cycle generally takes a couple of weeks, so UK members should expect to start receiving it from the end of next week and overseas members will start receiving it from the week after (W/C 25th).

I’m equally pleased to advise that our membership count has reached the same level as that where we ended 2014, namely 4,425 full and affiliate members. We are therefore poised once again to report net growth for the year, which will be at least the 7th year running that we have achieved this. We reached this milestone over the weekend, when two new members joined and three lapsed members rejoined. Members who join or rejoin the Association before the end of the year will also receive the Festiniog Guide, which we hope will support continued strong recruitment for the rest of this year.

A member phoned me over the weekend and asked how the Association was. My reply was “in rude health”. I hope you agree.

Alan Regan, Chairman & Membership Secretary

My last message on this topic set expectations that the guide would be completed by the time of the W&LLR gala at the end of the first weekend in September. As it was being finalised, Andrew recognised that new copies of two important pictures were needed. His editorial view, which I respect, is that these are needed to complete the guide to the desired standard. The pictures have been requested and the guide will complete as soon as they have been provided by the owners. Hopefully this should not take more than a week or so. Shed Notices will be updated as soon as the guide has been signed off at the printers.

Alan Regan, Chairman

I’m pleased to advise that August SMT & Bulletin will start to arrive with UK residents from tomorrow, Thursday 20th August. Suzanne and Gareth got both magazines finished early in the month and the printers and mailing house have pulled the stops out to get them quickly on their way. Overseas recipients will from experience receive them during the next two weeks, depending on where in the world they are. Thanks to all for getting both publications to members before the coming UK holiday.

I have been with Andrew (Charman – editor of the Festiniog Guide) on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway today and he tells me that the guide will be signed off with the printers before the W&LLR gala which takes place 5th and 6th of September. It will then take between two and three weeks to print and distribute, so a realistic expectation is that it will be received by members towards the end of September. The Help and Advice DVD, featuring some of the demonstrations from the 2014 National Garden Railway Show, will be included with the guide.

Alan Regan, Chairman

We have added a number of child protection policies to the website. These can be read on the policies page – please scroll to the bottom of the page to see the policies. Members who might have contact with children at events and shows are urged to read these documents.

On a few occasions the Association has been contacted by members who are experiencing difficulties in receiving goods they have ordered from suppliers. While the Association is not a trade policing body, nor is it setting out to be a consumer arbitration organisation it recognises that there are a handful of occasions when its members have problems when dealing with traders. The Association will not get involved in individual cases of dispute between members and traders, however it has  produced a document as a means of advice where things go wrong. You can read the document on our policies page.

Following the election of Colin Slight as Company Treasurer at the AGM on 11th April, a hand-over process has been taking place between Colin and Carol Regan, the former Company Treasurer. This has now been completed and Colin will now formally take over from Carol. Carol will continue to serve on the Board as Trader Co-ordinator, responsible for trader attendance at the National Garden Railway Show.

I’m pleased to confirm that the May issues of SMT and Bulletin are being packed by the mailing house and will be collected by Royal Mail later today. UK members should receive their copy before the end of the week. Mailing to overseas members is by air mail and does vary by country, but I would expect most to receive their copy during the first week in June. As usual, contact the membership secretary at membership@16mm.org.uk if you have any concerns.

Alan Regan, Membership Secretary