Mohn Media Now Prints Complete Print Run Of ‘Der Spiegel’
Since January 10, Mohn Media has been producing not just half, but instead the complete print run of the German news magazine “Der Spiegel”. The printing contract is valid until the end of 2028. Complete production in Gütersloh and Marienfeld has significantly increased the complexity of the production processes and the time pressure – which is no problem for the large printing company.
Mohn Media has been printing half of the print run of Germany’s news magazine “Der Spiegel” for almost precisely ten years – on time and always to the customer’s complete satisfaction. Now, this reliability has paid off: at the end of last year, the Hamburg-based Spiegel-Verlag not only extended the cooperation with Mohn Media but also expanded it comprehensively for the long term. As of issue 03/2025, which went on sale on January 11, the Bertelsmann Marketing Services large printing company for the first time produced the complete print run of “Der Spiegel” in Gütersloh and nearby Marienfeld. The new exclusive contract with Mohn Media runs until the end of 2028 on fixed terms.
“At Mohn Media, we are very proud of the fact that Spiegel-Verlag has decided to exclusively cooperate with us in the future,” said Mohn Media Managing Director Dirk Kemmerer. “This success is the result of a great team effort. Every department involved has done an excellent job over the past several years – the employees in the prepress and printing departments, who have always reacted flexibly and professionally even regarding the many last-minute adjustments, the team at Probind, who have continuously worked on expanding our performance in the saddle stitching area and automating large parts of the finishing process, and the team in our magazine division, whose consistent customer focus has ensured that the order has now been awarded to us in full.”
Increased complexity of the production processes
The first printing data arrives in the prepress department at Mohn Media on Thursday around 11 p.m. Stefan Fiedler, Market Area Manager Magazines at Mohn Media, said: “We have laid the foundation for the extension and expansion of the contract together over the past ten years, because we have proven to our customer from Hamburg from day one that our entire team is capable of mastering all challenges and meeting the high publishing requirements in terms of quality, flexibility and timing at all times.”
The last magazines of the print run are delivered late Friday afternoon by Probind in Marienfeld. The first production on the new, significantly larger scale was handled to the client’s complete satisfaction last week, despite significantly changed parameters. “We would like to thank the entire team at Mohn Media for their commitment and effort to ensure the smooth production of the entire print run in the usual high quality and punctuality,” said Silke Kassuba, Head of Production at Spiegel-Verlag.
The biggest challenge during the premiere production was the tight time window of significantly less than 24 hours. As the complete print run is now being produced in Gütersloh and Marienfeld, those responsible need to plan for significantly longer transport times in some cases in order to be able to continue to serve recipients in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland on time. This, and of course the much larger quantity of magazines that must be printed and stitched, has once again significantly increased the complexity of the production processes and the time pressure. Dirk Kemmerer: “The fact that we have mastered all these challenges demonstrates our very high level of expertise in the production of weekly magazines.”
