Company of the Year
Winner: Northside Graphics - DigitalPrinting.co.uk
Sponsored by:
Small can be beautiful, and that’s definitely true of Northside. Every day the online printer goes toe-to-toe with rivals many times its size, but rather than being daunted, it uses its size to its advantage: constantly investing in technology to achieve marginal gains in productivity or add new products and services. It also helps that it punches well above its weight in terms of ambition, increasing headcount by 40% in the judging period to 66 – including nine apprentices and two university placements. However, as the judging panel noted “it’s no good spending without accumulating”, and this is where the Belfast firm truly edged this hotly contested category: virtually doubling sales and boosting net profit by almost 70% in a single year.
Highly commended:
Micropress
Qualvis Print & Packaging
SME of the Year
Winner: Precision Card Services
Sponsored by:
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. No more! If there were a Printweek Award for dogged consistency then Precision Card Services would be the undisputed winner, having been shortlisted in this category seven times out of the past 10. However, none of that matters now, because 2023 is Macclesfield-based PCS’s year. And while consistency was part of the story, 60% of clients have been with 34-staff operation for 13 years or more, after a decade of sustained growth, the annual numbers submitted for this judging period simply blew the judges away. “The PCS team always set a high bar, but wow – what a year!” said one.
Highly commended:
Print4uk
Sinatra Marketing Group
Customer Service Team of the Year - Large Enterprise
Winner: SMP Group
Sponsored by:
SMP Group impressed the judges with its holistic approach to putting in place best-in-class customer service that marries with the demands of its client base, including a 24/7 hotline where required, and fast feedback on customer requests. As well as cross-discipline expertise, the SMP team also provides advice and inspiration through its creative wing and insights agency. The approach is obviously working, with the point-of-sale and out-of-home specialist enjoying long relationships of 10 years-plus with many of its clients. As one of the judges commented: “A class entry aimed at customer delight delivered by a team that is available 24/7, and underpinned by a tech solution.”
Highly commended:
Solopress
Customer Service Team of the Year - SME
Winner: Impress Print Services
Sponsored by:
Impress Print Services certainly impressed the judges with its process, which “demonstrated a complete 360-degree approach to customer service, placing it at the heart of its values as well as its people”. The Surrey firm has put world-class customer service and sustainability at the centre of its culture, with employees encouraged to use an empathetic approach to determining each customer’s needs and preferences. A Royal Warrant holder for the late Queen Elizabeth II, Impress has worked with more than 400 of its clients for at least five years, with nine notching up more than two decades. Perhaps it’s not surprising that 100% of customers said they would “very likely or would definitely” recommend the business.
Highly commended:
Book Printing UK
Environmental Company of the Year - Large Enterprise
Winner: Go Inspire Group
Sponsored by:
Marketing specialist Go Inspire has more than lived up to its name. Taking a two-pronged approach, the firm has made major strides to both reduce and offset its environmental impact. Its imaginative approach to saving waste has seen the firm save nearly 200 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per year. Most impressive, however, is its carbon balancing scheme: since partnering with the World Land Trust, it smashed its target of balancing 8,000 tonnes with 11,200 tonnes saved – the equivalent of taking 5,300 cars off the road for a year. In the words of one judge, “the results speak for themselves”.
Highly commended:
Bluetree Group
Environmental Company of the Year - SME
Winner: Generation Press
Sponsored by:
Generation Press is not just ahead of the curve on the environment, it is defining what the curve should look like. The litho and digital printer has been carbon neutral for 14 years, carbon positive for 10, it recycles an astonishing 99.4% of its waste, and has used vegetable inks since 2007. Earning B-Corp status in 2022, it immediately entered the top 5% of all B-Corp companies. “They’re not just shouting about offsetting,” said one judge, “they have thought holistically about sustainability, and really live their values.”
Highly commended:
FaberExposize UK
KGK Genix
Trainee of the Year
Winner: Charlie Cox, Berkshire Labels
Sponsored by:
Every good apprenticeship should be a journey, and that’s certainly been the case for Charlie. According to his tutor, he has not only developed a wide range of new print specific skills during his time at the Hungerford-based label business, he has evolved from “shy young man into a confident adult” that speaks and writes confidently and has embraced learning in a way he never thought possible. Cox sums up his journey best: “I thought I would never be capable of learning and that it would take too long, but looking back on the past three years, they have been amazing.”
Highly commended:
Paul Bisland, Tradeprint
Jay Patel, Micropress
Innovation of the Year
Winner: Precision Card Services
Sponsored by:
When your company’s mission statement is ‘improve, innovate & inspire’ then you need to practice what you preach. That’s precisely what PCS tasked its R&D team to do five years ago when it challenged them to develop a fully recycled and recyclable PVC card that had the same properties as standard PVC. The team developed PVC-R, a card that offers consistent and stable printability and the same durability of any traditional credit-card style card available whilst still meeting ISO standards. “These guys are so far ahead of the curve it’s unreal, if they switch all their 160 million cards to the recycled product that will be a game changer,” noted one of the judges.
Innovation of the Year
Winner: Propack
Sponsored by:
Huddersfield-based Propack relished the opportunity to help TUI improve its brochure offering with greater flexibility, less waste, better customer buying journey insights and, of course, the all-important ROI. So, when the client tells you they’re “thrilled with the results” and credits your business with “transforming our brochure marketing” and offering its customers an immersive “inspirational, personalised experience that can be delivered through digital or print”, you know you’re on to a winner. And fortunately our judging panel agreed.
Innovation of the Year
Winner: Royston Labels
Sponsored by:
Royston Labels was invited to take part in the international ‘Make a Mark’ design innovation initiative where it was partnered with design agency Black Eye Project to develop a concept around sustainability, luxury and innovation for a fantasy drinks brand. The Black Eye creatives came up with a Victorian poison inspired packaging concept that, to truly deliver, required a label that in many respects should have been technically impossible. But making the impossible possible is what gets the Royston team out of bed in the morning. Which was fortunate, as, by his own admission, Black Eye executive creative director Jim Lobley felt they had perhaps pushed the boundaries a little too far. “However, the end-result is pretty spectacular, and the amount of technique and detail in there is something we didn’t think possible,” he said. And the judges agreed, as one simply said: “Loved. This.”
Innovation of the Year
Winner: Service Graphics
Sponsored by:
Service Graphics, in partnership with the FA developed a banner to celebrate the Cup Final’s 150th anniversary. It featured all 729 clubs that competed in the FA Cup and while the design was complex, the award-winning innovation ran much deeper. Working with waste management specialist Veolia, the team used a specially sourced eco-fabric made from 47,600 recycled bottles – but that was just the beginning of the eco-journey. After the banners were revealed and paraded by 151 military personnel, they were upcycled into 1,000 items of clothing, drawstring bags and bibs that were distributed to local communities. One judge noted: “It wasn’t just the football that was end-to-end, clearly, so was the production. Impressive stuff.”
Marketing Campaign of the Year
Winner: Impress Print Services
Sponsored by:
Impress’ sustainability-based campaign answered a serious question for many printers: when you have done all your eco-credential homework, how do you then reap the rewards? Bringing its serious credentials, such as ISO14001, to life, it produced an imaginative array of direct mail, including calendar, eco-vegan mailer with digital sensory ink, and ‘Happy-bee Easter’ hexagonal Easter egg packaging. Judges particularly praised the firm’s’ ability to weave together a complex campaign and have it pay off with both external and internal audiences. With one adding how fantastic it was to see a company reap the rewards of strategic investment, it almost goes without saying: the judges were Impress’d.
Highly commended:
Printed.com
Bespoke Digital Printer of the Year
Winner: Showcase Creative
Sponsored by:
Camberley-based luxury short-run packaging producer Showcase Creative wowed the judges with their superbly delivered and executed submission. The centrepiece was an influencer pack produced for Frontier Games to support the launch of the latest F1 Manager game. With a main outer box and a dossier folder, the pack raced to success, generating glowing social media feedback from recipients. Another gamer influencer box for Metro/Spartan, to support Metro Exodus, meanwhile, won praise for its “particularly impressive and impactful” intricate finishing”. On this project Showcase Creative worked with The Liquorice Press, who provided the initial concept, beautifully foil embossed and printed sheets.
Highly commended:
Pureprint Group
Book Printer of the Year
Winner: Kingsbury Press - Bluetree Group
Sponsored by:
An emphatic win for Bluetree Group-owned Kingsbury Press, with one judge describing every one of the Loversall firm’s samples as “simply breathtaking” while another hailed its “stunning use of tactile finishing techniques paired with impactful print”. For one memorable submission, the company worked with Shane MacGowan, lead singer of The Pogues, on a fairytale project. The challenging job required it to perfectly replicate MacGowan’s vivid drawings in all their fantastical glory. The printer’s other samples included a high-end layflat book with a range of luxurious finishes, and another project that saw a delighted client remark “no one can put ink on paper like you guys”.
Highly commended:
Gomer Press
Bespoke Publications Printer of the Year
Winner: Pureprint Group
Sponsored by:
Pureprint comes up trumps thanks to a collection of sumptuous samples. The Uckfield-headquartered firm had quite a job on its hands with the plush V magazine, which encompasses all things fashion and culture. Finishes including spot UV glitter varnishing, and Swiss binding to allow the cover and unattached spine of the magazine to lay flat, contributed to the premium feel. One judge said: “There was a lot to think about here, and that’s exactly what the printer did – think about it, and then deliver it.” Also requiring expert attention to detail was a catalogue the business produced for The Rug Company. Showcasing beautiful handmade rugs from Nepal, the most accurate reproductions of colour were absolutely critical and were achieved via Pureprint’s high-quality litho service.
Highly commended:
Kingsbury Press - Bluetree Group
High-volume Digital Printer of the Year
Winner: Print4uk
Sponsored by:
Print4UK carries off the trophy having impressed with a very 21st-century product – personalised books produced at scale via a bespoke web-to-print setup. The brainchild of two dads searching for a way to engage their fussy eating children with a range of healthy foods, the Sammy Satsuma range has grown to include a series of humorous stitched story books, a Christmas special edition that was featured as a prize in a number of magazines, and a fully personalised Wiro-bound recipe book that lays claim to being the first of its kind in the UK. Judges praised the quality and vibrant colours of the end-result. “These are impressive submissions, showing consistency that many might struggle to match.” Sammy Satsuma might just be tickled pink.
Label printer of the Year
Winner: Label Apeel
Sponsored by:
Label Apeel used a variety of print technologies and innovative finishing processes to nail the brief and create unbeatable shelf stand-out for each high-end client. Label Apeel’s deep understanding of the available technology enabled it to get the very best of its kit, to innovate where necessary and deliver micrometer-tight registration and perfect colour consistency across a range of print and finishing processes. The judges were impressed with the company’s ability to deliver on a set of highly challenging design briefs in a way that truly wowed the customer. “Each of the four samples were fantastic examples of the design team and the printer working together to make magic happen,” said one.
Highly commended:
The Label Makers
Packaging Printer of the Year
Winner: Showcase Creative
Sponsored by:
Showcase Creative submitted beautifully realised presentation packs for some top-end clients. As the packs were destined for influencers, the quality had to be absolutely top notch to secure social media acclaim. Showcase Creative’s technical capabilities and attention to detail shine through in their samples – a testament to the company’s casemaking expertise. The submissions included a super sexy case for Campari – effectively a ready-made cocktail cabinet – containing all the ingredients and hardware required to make a negroni. One judge commented: “I don’t think there are enough superlatives to describe the Campari project.”
Highly commended:
Pureprint Group
Post-press Company of the Year
Winner: Kingsbury Press - Bluetree Group
Sponsored by:
Prestigious work produced by Kingsbury Press involves a global client base, and it’s easy to see why. Foiling onto sumptuous but challenging materials such as real suede for private members’ club Colette in New York is not for the faint-hearted, and the Kingsbury Press team carried out extensive tests and worked with extreme care and precision to achieve the desired result. The Kalae slipcase required a subtle result involving foiling with fine details and a heavy deboss. The Kingsbury Press team married the use of specialist post-press equipment with expert hand finishing skills in its winning entry, with the judges describing the results as “simply stunning” and praising the “fantastic effort” involved in pulling all the elements together.
Highly commended:
Empress Litho
Wide-format Printer of the Year
Winner: K.G.K. Genix
Sponsored by:
K.G.K. Genix knows how to go large, but while the scale of the projects it undertakes is impressive, it’s the attention to detail that wowed the judges. Mega-brand Nike’s move within Westfield White City required a 320sqm hoarding that featured a heavy jet-black background with a series of white lines that had to be installed within a very tight timeframe. Meanwhile a workplace fitout for Beavertown’s new brewery transformed the building from a blank canvas into a brand-strong, fun space for staff. No surface was left untouched – floor, walls, ceiling, glass partitions and even the kitchen cupboards were decorated with over 230sqm of vinyl and digitally printed wallpaper. KGK pushes its Epson, EFI Vutek and Zund hardware to deliver huge projects in stunning detail. “A brilliant range of work – so impressed!” said one judge.
Highly commended:
Pureprint Imprint