NEWS FRONT

COMPASS BUSINESS FINANCE RECOVERY LOAN SCHEME

Compass Business Finance has been accredited by the British Business Bank to offer the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) enabling them to further support businesses as they recover and grow, following the effects of the pandemic.

The scheme is designed to help businesses affected by Covid-19 access funding for managing cashflow, investment, and growth, as well as, to improve the funding terms on offer. However, if a commercial loan or funding on better terms is available, without requiring the guarantee provided by the RLS, that will be offered.

Offering a number of similar features to the earlier Covid-19 schemes, the RLS also includes other benefits, for example, the cap on borrowing has been extended from £5million to £10million per borrower with the amount per group increased to £30million. Whilst the lower limit for asset and invoice finance has been reduced to £1,000, and £25,001 for term loans.

Businesses who have taken out a CBILS, CLBILS or BBLS facility are able to access the new scheme, subject to affordability.

Jamie Nelson, director of Compass Business Finance, stated that, “Our accreditation under the Recovery Loan Scheme will enable us to provide more businesses with the funding they need to move forward, whether we’re helping them restructure existing debts or providing the funding for much needed investments.

“We are now better positioned to assist both larger groups of companies who previously only had access to CLBILS and those smaller companies who took Bounce Backs Loans but would benefit from further support.”

Compass Business Finance has a long standing relationship with the British Business Bank, having previously worked with them to increase the availability of finance to smaller UK businesses, through Regional Growth Funds, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

The Recovery Loan Scheme is scheduled to run until 31st December 2021; however, this will be subject to review.

Visit www.compassbusinessfinance.co.uk/ recovery-loan-scheme

BPIF CALL FOR BRITISH BOOK DESIGN AWARD ENTRIES

The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), in partnership with Oxford Brookes University, BookMachine, and The Bookseller are calling for entries to the British Book Design and Production

Awards 2021. As one of the most prestigious and popular literary events of the year, these are the only industry awards to promote and celebrate the excellence and craftsmanship of the British book design and production industry.

All books published between 1 July 2019 and 9 July 2021 are eligible for entry in this year’s awards. There are 18 categories that represent the many various forms books can take. These include everything from Photographic books to Scholarly, Academic and Children’s categories.

There is also a specific category for aspiring students to enter their work, with the opportunity to win a cheque for £500 as well as a short internship with a leading designer, publisher or printer.

A panel of industry experts from the areas of design, publishing and production will judge all the entries. In addition to the 18 category winners, the book that outshines the rest will win the title of ‘Book of the Year’.

The deadline for entries is Friday 9 July 2021. The awards will be presented at a dazzling ceremony on 8 November 2021 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London.

The BPIF would like to thank its sponsors: Canon, Halstan, Matador, Mondi, Muller Martini, The Printing Charity, Winter & Company and media partners Oxford Brookes University, BookMachine and The Bookseller.

For further details on the categories and entry requirements to the awards please log on to www.britishbookawards.org or contact Heena Bulsara at the BPIF on 07931533728 or heena.bulsara@bpif.org.uk

PROFILE OF THE MONTH: SUPREME LABELLING

Supreme Labels supply a huge range of labels to suit any need, fast and efficiently and at a great trade price.

Quality products for various applications in numerous sizes, with different adhesive qualities to suit all needs.

Please feel free to contact Supreme Labelling regarding your customers label requirements; they will match the right product to your needs at the right price!

01924 402111 www.supremelabels.co.uk

ROUTE 1 PRINT UNVEIL NEW ROUTE TO AUTOMATED PRINT

South Yorkshire printers, Route 1 Print, launch new API for automated print buying opportunities, saving clients time and money through integration.

The ethos at Route 1 Print has always been to make the lives of their clients as easy as possible. As a trade only supplier, they pride themselves on offering a service that is tailored to the unique needs of print buyers

Route 1 Print are now excited to launch their latest innovation; an Application Programming Interface (API) designed to streamline the print buying process and help clients to save money at the same time.

The API allows clients to link their website or order management system directly to the Route 1 Print factory. In other words, clients will no longer have to spend time transferring order details from their MIS to the Route 1 Print website — specifications will be transferred automatically and the production team can get to work immediately.

Automated print buying brings many benefits to regular print buyers, not least being the time saved on duplicating job specifications. Clients will save money on transactional costs per order and can be sure that they will always get the best price thanks to the automatic pricing updates that come with the API. It also means print buyers can offer shorter turnaround times because their orders are entering the production workflow sooner.

All these benefits mean that print buyers will spend less energy on administrational tasks, leaving more space to grow their business.

“The API has been a huge help to our business growth,” says a High-Profile Print Procurement Business, one of Route 1 Print’s initial API clients. “We would not have been able to handle such large order numbers without automation and this means we still get the Route 1 Print service. Having worked with Route 1 Print for a couple of years now, we can trust that they will give us the quality we need.”

Route 1 Print has been developing their API for some time now, creating bespoke solutions for select clients. Having successfully migrated a number of clients to this system, they are proud to finally offer it to a wider audience. Clients can now access all the information they need from the Route 1 Print website.

Sarah Kilcoyne-Guilliam, who has been at the centre of this development from the beginning, says, “We’re thrilled to bring more integration into our buying process. Automated solutions can give so much back to our clients and we anticipate a big shift towards this way of buying in the future. Our API will help clients to focus on what really matters to them.”

www.route1print.co.uk

HOLLYWOOD MONSTER CHAIRMAN RECEIVES MBE

Hollywood Monster Chairman Tim Andrews has been recognised by

the Queen’s Birthday Honours list with an MBE. In a year of a pandemic when the third sector has needed to work harder than ever before to keep services running and funds coming in, the co-founder of LoveBrum has been recognised for ‘services to charity and the community in Birmingham’.

The proud Brummie said, “This absolutely has been a great surprise and a huge honour and I’m bursting with pride at having been recognised by the Queen on this year’s Birthday Honours List.”

‘I am truly honoured to have been made an MBE and I share this special moment with my family and close friends. LoveBrum was founded on the basis of being a force for good for Birmingham so without the city’s incredible community our achievements wouldn’t be possible. Many individuals have personally helped me along the way and I’d like to dedicate this honour to the people of Birmingham who have shown incredible resilience and togetherness during unprecedented times. I am proud to be a Brummie.”

Tim’s dedication and pride in the City inspired him to co-found and chair the local charity LoveBrum, with the sole aim to increase civic pride by unearthing local projects that make the city a better place.

Tim has raised in excess of £750k for local causes by organising and hosting a number of charity events, and has picked up a number of accolades including a Points of Light award from the Prime Minister, CEO of the year at Downtown in Business, Local Hero of the Year from Birmingham Mail, CSR award from The Business Desk, Brummie of the Year at Birmingham Awards and West Midlands regional IOD Director of the Year.

Tim says, “I would also like to dedicate this award to my late father John Andrews. We started Hollywood Monster together in our loft space and none of this would have happened without his support and confidence in me and it’s such a shame he is not here for him to share this.”

Co-founded by Tim and PJ Ellis, LoveBrum supporters vote on live projects and everyone has a say in which projects are supported, meaning all funds raised help to boost the local charitable economy and the best part is, every penny raised from individual memberships and fundraising goes straight to the causes.

Tim has forged a successful career and business in Birmingham as Chairman of Hollywood Monster, a graphics firm that has become one of the largest in its sector, with 70 employees and a £10m turnover with min blue chip companies.

Tim added, “The nightmare of the pandemic has seen the business, and our target sectors, deplete over the years but our team has remained dedicated to providing the best possible quality and service for each and every client.”

Looking to the future, Tim hopes to continue supporting causes he loves – especially Brummie ones!

www.hollywoodmonster.co.uk

ASL GROUP SUPPORTS SPECTRUM GRAPHICS

ASL Group, one of Canon’s largest and fastest growing partners has helped its customer, Spectrum Graphics, strengthen its offering through the purchase of a Canon imagePRESS C9010VP.

Spectrum Graphics, a family run design and printing service based in Erith, Kent, was established in 1998 and offers a wide variety of print products in almost every print sector. It approached ASL Group in early 2020 looking to purchase a new device that would allow it to broaden its product offering and strengthen its quality of output. The business had worked with multiple print providers in recent years; however, it was experiencing difficulties with its existing product range and the service it was receiving from suppliers.

ASL Group worked with Spectrum Graphics to better understand its requirements, existing challenges, and future goals. Offering a consultative approach is a key part of ASL Group’s offering, and after exploring products from various manufacturers it was clear – for both businesses – that the Canon imagePRESS C9010VP was the perfect fit.

Spectrum Graphics purchased the Canon imagePRESS C9010VP, which boasts impressive colour, performance, and consistency. The device is capable of printing on heavier stocks as standard (up to 400gsm), as well as on a range of textured and creative media. Its functionality includes MULTI D.A.T. for ultimate image quality, and a Dual Fixing unit for full productivity on different media types. The purchase will help Spectrum Graphics grow into new markets, as it can now offer its customers a wider range of outstanding quality products with an extremely high level of consistency. Thanks to improved efficiencies, the device will also support Spectrum Graphics in making long term financial savings.

David Norris, Partner, Spectrum Graphics, commented: “The service we’ve received from Canon and ASL Group has been outstanding, with any issues or questions being resolved quickly and professionally. We’ve also been incredibly impressed with the print quality of the imagePRESS C9010VP, and we can now offer our customers quick and reliable turnaround times and the highest quality output.”

Will Doherty, Commercial & Industrial Printing Systems Director, ASL Group, commented: “We’re delighted we’ve been able to support Spectrum Graphics on its journey, helping the business identify a Canon product that uniquely fits its business needs. We pride ourselves on our consultative approach and hope that the new device will open up exciting opportunities in the future.”

ASL Group is a supplier to the production print market for graphic arts, corporate and public sector print rooms offering print, IT and communication infrastructure to over 7,000 customers across nine UK sites.

0345 304 3604 • will.doherty@asl-group.co.uk • www.asl-group.co.uk

FLEXPRESS INSTALLS HORIZON BQ-500 PERFECT BINDER

Flexpress, Leicester, has chosen to manage an increase in book printing orders with one of the first Horizon BQ-500 perfect binders in the

UK. Explains Steve Wenlock, Managing Director: “Book printing demand has been growing and we felt our existing equipment was struggling to cope, particularly at times of peak demand.”

It was the reputation of Horizon systems that was instrumental in the decision to buy. States Steve: “The Horizon BQ-470 and Horizon BQ-480 PUR have always had excellent reputations so the opportunity to install the latest variation was too good to miss. Plus, our experience of Horizon equipment, such as our StitchLiner MK III, has always been very positive.”

He continues: “Apart from the fact it’s considerably quicker than the machine it replaced, we liked the fact the BQ-500 has the ability to add extra functionality, such as end paper feeders for case bound books, as our need demands.

“We didn’t look at any other alternatives because we are familiar with and have confidence in Horizon binders. We knew it would meet our needs, so didn’t feel we needed to consider anything else.

As for the impact it is making Steve states: “Basically, we can get more production from the same amount of time which enables us to take on jobs we’d have struggled with previously. We’re not chasing different markets. Our existing trade market has plenty of opportunity and relies on us to provide quality products reliably and cost effectively. This installation means we’ll simply be able to do this on a slightly bigger scale.”

He adds: “The full return on investment won’t be fully known until our plans to expand capabilities in other areas of the business are realised. We are, though, anticipating it will be a significant component in a strategy that will see us double in size over the next few years.

Also crucial was the relationship Flexpress has with IFS. Says Steve “We’ve worked with IFS for many years and can’t foresee this changing. We trust the team implicitly and having been lucky enough to visit the Horizon factory in Japan, know they have a strong partnership with one of the world’s most respected brands of finishing equipment. Why wouldn’t we love that?”

The new Horizon BQ-500 four clamp perfect binder builds on the successful tried and trusted features of its BQ-470 and BQ-480 predecessors. Its enhanced functionality includes smoother faster more highly automated set up via a large 12.1 inch colour touchscreen, 21 automated sections from cycle and milling speed to roller height and guide positioning, memory storage of up to 999 jobs, pre-installed variable software capability and variable thickness production of 5mm up to 800bph. It also incorporates a number of new design features that aid easy operation. They include a status light that indicates, at a distance, how the binder is running, and an ergonomic design where all the operator required actions are on the same side. It is pre-installed with Horizon’s cloud based iCE LiNK workflow that provides access to an intuitive easy to use dashboard that reports real time production analysis for improved efficiency and profitability, remote update capabilities and scheduled maintenance resulting in less downtime.

The latest investment joins a Horizon StitchLiner MKIII, a Horizon BQ-280 PUR single clamp perfect binder, a Horizon HT-30C three sided trimmer, a Horizon CRF 362 creaser folder and a Horizon AFC-566 folder.

www.ifsl.uk.com

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