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Behind The Scenes
Above: Having gone through the test batch process, which resulted in some slight colour adjustment, Gregg is delighted by the magic which results in the card coming out of the other end of the printing press. The printed sheets of cards are left to dry for 24 hours.
“I’m really impressed that you go to so much trouble to get it absolutely right. I’m really impressed,” exclaimed Gregg Wallace to press operator Rod Clark.
Left: Time to for Woody’s Bob Surguy ‘the man with the golden touch’ to add the glitz and glamour to the design via some heated embossed plates with the raised parts being enhanced by some gold foil. Right and top right: Keen for another “slice of the action”, Gregg meets Dave De Cruz, who is in charge of the super sharp guillotine machine, which cuts through 250 sheets “like butter” explains Dave. Having depressed the cutters, Gregg checks he still has all of his fingers intact!
“That looks big and meaty and scary, and I would love a go!” says Gregg enthusiastically when presented with the opportunity to operate the guillotine machine. Right and far right: Moving to the publisher’s distribution centre in Milton Keynes, trying his hand, Gregg discovers that while Mihaela Micu, hand packer and re-work operative makes it look easy, adding the envelope to the card, folding it and applying gems to the cards by hand is not as easy as it looks.
“The incredible precision that goes into every part of making of these cards…with specialist skills and a little bit of festive fun, this factory turns a sheet of paper into a Christmas card that will bring a little bit of joy to millions of us,” summed up Gregg Wallace at the end of the programme.
Above: The publisher’s commitment to sustainability featured strongly in the programme relaying how 55 tonnes of plastic is being saved a year through its switch to paper banding and smart sealing alone. Gregg tries his hand at paper banding!
“Buying a card is a nice thing; it’s a nice shopping experience. Because virtually every time, you are buying something for someone you like,” says Gregg.
Left: Ending in the picking and despatch area, for all his festive attire, Adam Osborne, Woodmansterne’s operations director explains how running a large publishing company efficiently and sustainably is a serious business. Gregg relays how Woody’s “giant greeting card grotto” holds a “gobsmacking” nine million cards, which double in number in the run up to Christmas.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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