Tales from the
print room AN INTERVIEW WITH: Jenny Cross CEO of Cross Productions Every print job has a story behind it. In this regular feature, our print partner Soar Valley Press introduces Niche Magazine to the Leicester-based people they work with, to absorb the tales from when their projects go to press WORDS BY TOM YOUNG
F
or this issue, Niche Magazine turns its gaze inward, as we are a client of Soar Valley Press! This very magazine was printed by SVP, so we spoke to Jenny Cross, the CEO of our publishing house, about why a great print partnership is so important to Cross Productions. “The reason we work with Soar Valley Press,” Jenny tells us, “is because they understand us as a business; they don’t just print stuff, they listen to us – they understand who we’re trying to target and advise us on the best material to use.” Cross Productions’ print needs are wide ranging – whether it’s water bottles or other merchandise, brochures or table plans for the different events we produce, or even this actual magazine, SVP think about the audience and advise us. “As print specialists, they 54 | NICHE
IF THEY DON’T FEEL SOMETHING’S RIGHT, THEY’LL COME BACK AND HIGHLIGHT IT TO US. IT GIVES US THE FREEDOM TO MAKE AN EDUCATED DECISION
understand what works best. They have that knowledge and they’re outstanding at communicating it.” Ensuring the professional standard of everything Cross produces would be impossible without a reliable print partner. “We have used other printers over the years, but often the finish wasn’t the quality that we’d expect. It’s the attention to the small details that makes the biggest difference; when we’re printing a black brochure but it comes back with a white fold through it, that doesn’t reflect well on us. As our business has grown, the standard of our product and service has increased, and that needs to be demonstrated in everything we do.” One of the ways Cross Productions has developed and grown is through strategic partnerships with trustworthy people who will give advice
that’s right for the company. “That’s exactly why we work with SVP,” says Jenny. “If they don’t feel something’s right, they’ll come back and highlight it to us. It gives us the freedom to make an educated decision – we can continue doing what we’re doing or we can listen to what they’re suggesting.” As a business owner, you can’t be an expert in everything. It’s important to acknowledge the other people who have helped you, and the skills they brought to the table. “I suspect people often think: ‘Yeah, here we go, the design’s finished; send it off to press – done!’,” Jenny concludes. “But actually there’s way more to it. The finish, the borders, the quality of the paper – how do you know what you want, if you don’t have that knowledge? That’s why it’s great to have expert partners like Soar Valley Press, who do.”
