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Genuine, Real and Accredited

29 November 2020 Stuart Nimmo

Over several weeks, it’s become very apparent that smoke and mirrors can rule the roost. In a period where a client working with a third party has been challenged with poor digital materials, knowing what you are working with becomes hard, especially if you want consistency.

A mish-mash of artwork, poor quality PDF’s, differing standards and lack of the right stuff, just leaves a sour taste with all involved.

Anyone can create artwork – Wrong!

It might seem that way, but a seasoned experienced professional, will create artwork which is fit for purpose, ensure reproduction, and be robust. The construction of the elements on a page is critical to sharp good clear reproduction. A good graphic designer or print professional will use Indesign or Quark for page layout. Why? Both these software packages work with the right file formats for important, they have built-in colour management.

My logo is a PNG file – Ouch!

A good print professional/graphic designer will look for a logo to be a vector-based file, which means it will be sharp and reproduce at whatever size. It also allows for a multitude of reproduction methods to be used, from print, garments to signage. Don’t be fooled by the file size. A good quality one can be small when it’s a vector-based file like and .eps .ai .svg .pdf. Equally when we see a .jpg or .png in kb (yes very small size) we know it won’t reproduce with any clarity.

All PDF files are the same – Wrong!

PDF files can be created for different purposes, and to a technical eye, there are 100s of different specifications, which they can be created to. This varies with how they handle fonts, manage colour, the level they compress images to and many other items. So not all PDF files are artwork. If you need to ask, PDF x1a and PDF x4 are the standards we use.

So, in the same way, you won’t approach a fishmonger to do the conveyancing on your house sale. A good print professional, when handling your project fully, will give you consistent results, artwork which will reproduce sharply and consistently, logos which have clarity, along with PDF’s which print with accuracy. Please note if you require a print specification – ask whoever is doing your artwork, we use a separate setting for proofing oppose to printing.

Point worth noting, printers are not web designers, and likewise, web designers are not printers. Just they both design and make pretty pages doesn’t mean they have the same skill sets.

So commissioning a piece of print, check that whoever is doing your artwork is experienced and knows what they are doing. Check their Linkedin profile, see what clients say about them. As the phrase goes compare Apple with Apples and not Pears.

All change…

9 October 2020 Stuart Nimmo

New opportunities and time stops for no one. Three years have passed since we launched in Huddersfield, and the world has significantly changed and shifted more than anyone could have predicted at that time. Even before Covid-19 shifted the world and changed how we all worked, it was becoming apparent that the “HOW” we work was taking a new direction.

So back in March as the UK was entering lockdown, we decided to move on from our Huddersfield base.

Since Covid-19 we have been operating by appointment only on-site, especially for our IT service customers. Our print customer base is very diversely spread across the United Kingdom, so the need for a “frontage” is now less important. We have achieved more by operating by appointment, as we can align technicians to customers, provide flexibility to service our print customers off-site, so the needs for a retail frontage has now diminished.

As the print arm of the business has developed, we’ve seen the need for more room to accommodate the print, fulfil and mailing, without stopping the other elements of the print production. It was becoming very apparent we were ready for change.

So from well before March, we were actively reviewing and looking at opportunities. As the months went by, we did have a few concerns, but as everything eventually pans out. We had an invitation to look at a property in Halifax, this provided new potential and opportunities, which we had only on the aspirational list over the essential criteria.

So we’ve found our new home at Shaw Lodge Mill in Halifax. Providing significant floor space, which allows for when we flex for the larger projects. It also provides the capacity to warehouse/store the items for customers who want progressive despatch of their print direct to their customers.

The world has changed, equally taking the opportunity to change is essential to everyone, as nothing certainly stands still. The next few weeks will certainly be interesting as we change. We are ensuring that all our regular monthly work is scheduled and timed so that we can manage the migration smoothly between Huddersfield and Halifax. Please do keep your projects coming, we have plans in place and redundancy to accommodate requests during the next few weeks. We are aiming to be live in Halifax from the beginning of November.

All we can say is thank you to the numerous individuals who have helped and supported us. It means a lot to us. We are seeing some significant opportunities opening up, thanks to the connections we have connecting us further, which is generating some interesting new projects.

The big nasty evil……

20 September 2020 Stuart Nimmo

That is how I was tongue in cheek described as last week. It really does seems that the world is going mad. Sustainability is a serious concern we actively approach as printers. We are well aware of the resources we use to produce our clients’ work.

Greenwashing as it is effectively known as, is the myths created to disprove creditable sources. Or if you want ”Fake News”, Paper is a sustainable product, it is a harvested product. For every tree used in paper manufacture, of which paper is made up of virgin and recycled pulp, more trees are planted than harvested. The paper industry goes a long way to prove this.

Paper is a product, which can be composted, returning the matter back to a carbon-rich source, which is locked in the ground. Paper can be recycled as mentioned back into itself. Our paper recycling heads, less than 10 miles to be turned into cardboard tubes. If that sort of low mileage and low carbon footprint makes it even more credible. Paper always has been the biologically friendly form of communication and has been recycled. I can remember a Scout Group back in Coventry which had a big success with this organised activity back in the 1970s/80s.

So where’s the evidence, The print and paper industries have always been very prominent about being truthful about the credibility and accountability of what we do. It’s worth taking a look at https://www.twosides.info where the global paper and print industries demonstrate the facts.

So here’s what we do to prevent the nasties of plastic….

Only specify laminates where a product is a long term product, so not disposable
Use recycled plastic biro’s in our studios and offices
Have compostable cups at our water dispenser

The ink we use in our digital presses is 94% compostable, we have solutions which offer a soy-based ink as well. Our large format machines use a latex ink, which is a water-based ink, with the pigment carried in a latex, which is sub-form of rubber.

Ultimately, it is a case of it’s easy to throw stones, however, the responsibility to be ecologically aware and responsible citizens rests with everyone. The advent of digital communications, with e-mail, social media and online, whilst might seem responsible not for using physical resources at the point of consumption, digital uses significant power, to create, to upload, store and then re-use and redistribute. Questioning the how much and the wherefores around digital online content.