NB Colour

NB Colour is a litho and digital printer based in Lancashire, producing catalogues, brochures, leaflets, stationery and annual reports. When Lancashire housing association Calico Homes called with an urgent request for eight six-foot people-shaped display pieces, the company was more than happy to maintain good client relations by going the extra mile. 

"When Calico Homes called with the request, at first I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to help them out. The pieces were for a communications meeting held by Calico Enterprise, the charitable arm of the organisation, and they wanted pieces that service users could stick their ideas for improved services on. The silhouettes would have to be screwed into the wall so I couldn’t do it with Foamex material. I thought it would cost a fortune to get ply board cut professionally and a jigsaw tool wouldn’t be up to the job.

But then I realised we might be able to get our foam suppliers to use their laser cutting equipment to cut out the ply board figures. We were doing a lot of printing for Calico Homes at the time so obviously I knew that going above and beyond the call of duty in this instance would make for great customer relations. It was a very last- minute request and they didn’t have time to research other companies.

So we went to B&Q and bought the ply board and spray paints, and then had the board cut. Our print finishers created a temporary spray booth in our loading bay out of paper waste skips and sprayed the figures black. Calico came to us with the job on Thursday morning and we had it done for Friday.

It was actually quite easy in the end – we could use our print knowledge to go about the job in a print-orientated way. I would definitely do jobs that weren’t strictly within our remit again – I never like to say ‘no’ to a client."

Dan McLaughlin estimator, NB Colour

Royle Print

Croydon printer Royle Print specialises in the production of corporate and marketing literature including annual reports, corporate and social responsibility reports and a mix of marketing literature such as brochures, folders, books, in-house magazines and calendars. Royle Print adds value with a wider range of finishing services.

"People come to Royle Print because we offer a balance between having the firepower and the capabilities of a big group and the personal touch and experience that comes with specialising in a niche area. Because Royle Print is part of the CPI Group, it shares its Croydon site with CPI White Quill, a book production company specialising in book jackets and covers. This means that Royle Print has a much wider range of finishing machines and technology at its disposal, such as laminating, embossing and foiling, than some other brochure and report printers. We’re even as specialised as making our own dies, and that’s pretty unique in the book world never mind in the printing world.

Because we are affiliated with White Quill and have access to their finishing equipment, we carry out every aspect of production in-house. We believe if we keep as much of the production in-house as possible, we’ll increase our control of the process and so we can be more flexible in responding to a client’s needs. So if we have projects that are very demanding – very complex or needed in a hurry – we’ve got the equipment and firepower to deliver that work.

We also ensure full control of a project by getting involved as early as possible. If we can get in at an early stage, we can identify papers and processes to enhance the finished result within budgetary constraints. It’s by getting involved at this stage that we can help shape the project and suggest innovative screening and printing techniques to push the boundaries and produce something really extraordinary. For those who work in marketing communications, creating something that stands out from the crowd is what it’s all about.

For our reports and accounts customers, they really value that we have in-house financial typesetting. Having the ability to typeset pages of technical numbers is something that clients demand. It shows how, despite being part of a large group, we’ve still got a valued specialism."