Swiss Post delivers newspapers abroad via hybrid mail

Swiss Post has begun distributing international editions of national newspapers to locations in Cyprus and Malta through a hybrid mail system. Since July, the company has been transmitting copies of the Swiss German-language newspapers Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), Blick and SonntagsBlick electronically to local printers in the Mediterranean islands, where the papers are then printed on newsprint to be sold physically.

Swiss Post International subsidiary Export Distribution Services AG is managing the process, which aims to provide Swiss tourists with daily newspapers with the right “look and feel” to which they are accustomed.

And, the hybrid mail process means newspapers are available on the day of publication.

The service is currently limited to 1,000 copies per day for sale at hotels, newsstands and other locations in Cyprus and Malta, although initially there and initially is only set to run during the summer vacation up to the end of October.

However, Swiss Post said the service represented a new business model that could allow publishing houses to respond to periods of demand in specific destinations across the globe.

The company also said that sending newspapers as a printable PDF file to local printers meant cost saving and sustainability benefits for publishers.

“Thanks to the digital transmission of data, delivery by plane is no longer required,” said Swiss Post. “This is better for the environment and saves publishers the high carriage charges incurred by international shipments.”