Medical Device Link.

Although it’s tempting at times, I try not to talk shop in this column. You don’t pick up this magazine to read a dissertation on the finer points of editing or publishing a business-to-business magazine. But when you roll out an extensive redesign, as we are doing with this issue, some words of clarification are in order.

The last time we embarked on a makeover of EMDM was in 2001. Conventional wisdom has it that you should consider a redesign every five to seven years. Oftentimes, after careful consideration, inaction is the wisest course to follow. At other times, you’ve just got to go for it. We decided, after eight years, that it was time to scratch that itch.

If done right, a magazine redesign is never just cosmetic. It’s an opportunity to question ingrained habits and challenge editorial assumptions. Coming at the project from that perspective led us to initiate a few substantive changes, the first of which you will discover on page 10 with the introduction of the Industry Intelligence section.

Industry Intelligence replaces Technology News and Industry News. As its name indicates, this new section is designed to provide you with an array of information to support your efforts in the design and manufacture of innovative medical devices. The factual and concise articles that you are used to finding in the erstwhile Industry News and Technology News sections will appear here, along with several other resources. But the changing dynamics of news reporting means that what typically falls under the news banner will be available sooner on our website (devicelink.com), home page (devicelink.com/emdm) or blog (medtechinsider.com) than in print.

Starting with this issue, we have also added an Outsourcing Guide section, which includes a technical article devoted to the product or service category featured in the Buyers Guide grid. This time out, the article focuses on some essential factors to keep in mind when sourcing a moulder. It is accompanied by a Buyers Guide grid listing dozens of companies offering contract medical moulding services.

We have added some other new content, which I will let speak for itself. Other than freshening up the overall look, we did not fundamentally change the succinct product and service descriptions and various associated sections. They form the backbone of EMDM and are, in large part, the reason we have such a faithful and supportive readership.

To my mind, recognising what to leave alone is as critical to a successful magazine redesign as removing what has grown stale and introducing new content that furthers the editorial mission of the publication. I think we got the balance right, but, ultimately, you are the judge. We await your verdict.