NEW PROFIT CENTRE

This time, more than any other time, remember to get organised with some World Cup promotional print. Offer your customers a fixture list wall chart similar to the QPP one in this month’s magazine. We bought the artwork files with permission to publish from a very entrepreneurial artworker. Pricing made the time saving an easy decision and we are happy to share this referral.

Choose from different files or ready printed. Order A3 and A2 printed versions and artwork files scan or click

ORDER IN PRINT DOWNLOAD VECTOR on the QR codes.

For anything else celebrating the World Cup get printing now on shirts, hats, banners, badges, mugs and of course cups. Take care with official logos, copyright and all that good stuff; text and images will do the job.

Vintage artwork makes for great memorabilia, just ask my Uncle Willie, or don’t be shy in copying a good idea — check out the eye test at Specsavers. For World Cup 2022 Cup and Balls: reseller area, catalogues and price list requests through, Neil Corkill: neil@sgball.com

MINUTEMAN PRESS PRODUCT EXCELLENCE WITH TROTEC LASER

Based in Bath, Minuteman Press has specialised in supplying high quality printed products to customers for 24 years. As a customer centric business, Minuteman Press prides itself on its creativity and the value offered to customers with a passionate team dedicated to delivering the very best quality and standards throughout the print and finishing stages.

BRINGING LASER WORK IN HOUSE

Minuteman Press prides itself on delivering the best possible results to customers in the shortest lead times. The team used a wide selection of different technologies, including a range of printers and a flatbed cutter with a camera system. These technologies allowed Minuteman Press to offer a comprehensive service, however, some work had to be outsourced or bought in from other suppliers. The cost was not significant but meant that lower margins were made on projects and lead times could be affected, something the team were keen to improve on.

The Minuteman Press team first discussed investing in their own laser cutter in 2019. The topic was revisited a handful of times in the following years, and in 2022 the decision to bring laser production in-house was made.

The Sign and Digital exhibition proved to be the perfect venue for Minuteman Press to explore laser production, with four manufacturers present at the show, including Trotec Laser. It was on Trotec’s stand that David Ghent, Managing Director, and Kieran Blacknall, Visual Communications Manager, saw the Q500 dual source laser cutter in action. Talking with one of Trotec’s experts at length, he was impressed with the knowledge and advice that was shared with him about laser processing.

Kieran booked a demonstration the following week at Trotec’s Showroom near Bristol. During the demonstration, Kieran tested a range of different materials on the Q500. Impressed with the versatility of processing coupled with the machine build quality, Minuteman Press invested in a dual source Q500 laser cutter which was installed in June 2022.

A NEW STRING TO THE PRODUCTION BOW

Since installation, the Q500 has added a new dimension to Minuteman’s processing, adding new ways to bring customer projects to life, with all products now being created in-house by the team.

To complete the range of laser services, Minuteman Press Bath purchased the addonTrotec Vision Print & Cut camera system. The Vision system enables printed materials with registration marks to be processed accurately, providing an efficient workflow and negating the need for manual alignment of jobs. Trotec’s laser software has also been praised for its intuitive workflow, allowing team members to efficiently work with the laser.

Kieran and the team credit Trotec for helping them choose the optimal machine for their needs. The addition of the Q500 laser cutter means the team are now able to have complete control over project timings and quality control, with all work now produced in-house.

Minuteman Press has used the Q500 to process a range of materials, including creating signage with Trotec’s TroLase laminates and incorporating LaserLeather into projects, with textiles being a completely new venture for the team. www.troteclaser.com

Tony’s Chocolonely announces partnership with Precision Proco. Precision Proco, part of the Precision Proco Group (PPG), has welcomed confectionery brand Tony’s Chocolonely to its portfolio of innovative and inspirational clients.

Precision Proco works with some of the UK’s most recognisable ecommerce and consumer goods brands to deliver high quality print materials. Originally three long established print companies, Precision Printing, Prime and ProCo joined forces in August 2020 to reimagine how corporate print is delivered - from leading the charge on waste reduction to delivering cutting edge applications.

Tony’s is a leading chocolatier with the defining principle of putting an end to modern slavery and illegal child labour on cocoa farms in West Africa. With their five sourcing principles they are showing that it is possible to make delicious chocolate and be a successful chocolate brand without exploiting cocoa farmers at the start of the supply chain.

Precision Proco supports Tony’s by executing personalised orders in the UK– online Tony’s customers can customise packaging designs, add recipient names and upload photos to be printed on their bespoke Tony’s wrapper.

Prior to its partnership with Precision Proco, Amsterdam based Tony’s worked with a Print Service Provider (PSP) in the Netherlands to fulfil UK orders. However, the chocolate maker decided to change provider for UK distribution following significant cost increases and delivery challenges created by Brexit. Tony’s was keen to maintain its trusted use of HP Indigo when searching for a new UK based provider, having already relied on the technology for a number of years.

“Precision Proco are experts at what they do and can provide us with a complete print and fulfilment solution — from high quality personalised wrappers and packaging, to understanding our choco fans better. This reduces complexity and costs, which enables us to give our choco fans the very best experience whilst maximising positive impact” comments Ben Greensmith, UK Country Manager of Tony’s Chocolonely.

Precision Proco relies upon its fleet of HP Indigo printers to deliver high quality personalised and sustainable wrappers for Tony’s, including the HP Indigo 10000 and HP Indigo 12000 digital presses, making use of technology such as HP SiteFlow to deliver thousands of personalised bars every day to individuals and businesses across the UK.

Precision Proco’s use of HP Indigo technology not only ensures delivery of consistently high quality and personalised labels, but also provides an end-toend sustainable packaging solution for their highly ethical customer, Tony’s. Peter Jolly, Country Manager, UK & Ireland, HP Indigo, also added: “It’s been wonderful to witness this exciting new partnership between PPG and Tony’s Chocolonely. We are pleased that Tony’s is continuing its journey with HP Indigo — we know a key reason for this is that our technology allows the company to reduce its carbon footprint through leveraging end to end sustainable packaging solutions”. To create your own Tony’s Chocolonely personalised bars just visit www.tonyschocolonely.com www.hp.com

POSTING YOUR PRINT CAN BE REWARDING

Direct mail specialist celebrates quartet of award successes. Yorkshire based direct mail provider, Propack, has won an award for its ethical practices, as well as being shortlisted in three more prestigious awards programmes.

Founded in 1995, Propack is a provider of technology led print and direct mail solutions, creating innovative campaigns for its clients, producing in excess of 25 million mail packs per year from its 30,000 square foot bespoke site in Huddersfield.

Propack was named Shooting Star in the monthly award programme hosted by Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Propack was nominated by the judging panel for its commitment to ethical and sustainable mailing practices through its in-house postage brand, Ethical Mail®.

The firm has also been shortlisted in the TheBusinessDesk.com’s Yorkshire Business Masters Awards for recent investments to its Huddersfield based factory and workforce, as well as being named as a finalist in two categories of the Prolific North Marketing Awards for its work with palliative, neurological and bereavement support charity, Sue Ryder.

In addition, Propack has secured a shortlisting in the 2022 Digital Printer Awards, in the Web-toPrint category, for its work with Christians Against Poverty (CAP) on its print on demand storefront.

Propack’s award successes have come from its work throughout the pandemic and beyond, to support its clients and deliver the best campaigns possible achieving stellar results.

The nominations recognise Propack’s £2.7m investment into new technology and equipment for its site as well as its work within the third sector with Sue Ryder and Christians Against Poverty.

Its campaigns with Sue Ryder and CAP have achieved incredible results, with Sue Ryder’s average gift donation values exceeding forecasts by 140 per cent and the creation of a print on demand solution that delivers circa 2,500 orders per year, on time, on brand and on budget for CAP.

Managing director of Propack, Jason Clough, said: “I am incredibly proud of the team for delivering consistent and impressive results that have helped secure these award nominations and the win from Huddersfield Town A.F.C.

“This recognition solidifies my commitment to growing our operations here in Yorkshire, expanding our workforce and ensuring that our stellar client delivery continues for years to come.

“We are lucky to have such wonderful clients, and I am grateful to see our efforts being recognised by these four highly respected organisations.” www.wearepropack.co.uk