We are proud to announce that we have been serving the print industry since 1966. Happy 50th birthday to us!
Precision Printing is a family business founded by Clive Cooper back in the 60s. It all began in Central Street, London. At the age of 20, Clive dreamed of starting a print shop and, in 1966 when he had an opportunity to acquire and re-brand an existing printers, he did just that! Precision Printing was born, and thus, our legacy began.
Part of the secret to Precision’s success over the last 50 years has been Clive’s stepson, CEO Gary Peeling’s willingness to evolve and adapt to every technological change and demand that has come along. The other reason for our ongoing success is that we put the customer and their best interests first, so their problems become our opportunities. Whether its business stationary, framed prints or printed books, Precision make it their aim to provide a great service.
How has printing changed?
(1980 – Stitched book)
Technology is constantly changing, and over the years we have seen some big trends come and go as the printing industry evolves. 1966 was the era of the letterpress, letters and short runs. The 70s and 80s were for producing general stationery, stitched books, long runs and GTOs, rather than the more elaborate products of today like lay flat books. Stationery was produced in mass and often stored in stock.
(2017 – Lay flat)
Gary Peeling explains:
“Now the printing business is digitally-driven and, when once we had a typesetter or compositor, we now have a software development department and the business is entirely run from a digital front-end, so it’s been a huge transition.
“When we first started, you’d be lucky to have an estimate in three days. We now print and ship same-day, on orders up to 50,000, so there’s been a huge transformation.”
(1966 – Letterpress)
Today with the help of short-run digital press, long runs are no longer required, as print on demand is more economical all round. Business cards were generally artworked proofed, proofed again and finally sent to print with a window of normally two weeks to turn around. Today these are turned around same day, with the customer more often than not placing their own order online, so no artworker at all is involved.
A memorable campaign
We were delighted when a theatre agency gave us the opportunity to be creative with a campaign. They were keen to publicise a forthcoming theatre production in an unusual way. There are now so many shows that people can go to, so the agency wanted to market the play to group ticket sales agencies in a way that would really stand out. They settled on the idea of a golden ticket campaign, just like the golden tickets in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The campaign was a hit and had everybody buzzing about it – and the customers loved it, the theatre was very impressed by it and it certainly caught the attention of other agencies!
The campaign gave print marketing the recognition it deserved. Suddenly, everyone was talking about print marketing rather than digital marketing! They were also talking about a print job that had a much higher cost and profit level than a standard campaign.
The Future
To be successful in today’s competitive environment, you can’t afford to stand still as a company – instead you need to move forward, even if it’s just one step at a time.
Precision’s drive with Where the Trade Buys, our online print solution for trade printers, was another way for the company to drive forward and progress in the market. Where the Trade Buys is our fastest-growing revenue stream, growing by 80% in 2016.
A relocation later in the year will make room for a new packing and mailing service and a whole new level of technology. Only three miles from our current site, the new site is larger and caters to our needs.
However the relocation and any other changes the company might face will never change our roots nor overlook what has been the key to our continued success – our staff, customers and continued commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and quality products. Our customers and our commitment to the highest standards of quality and aftercare remain our number one priority. We remain passionate about providing print solutions that work for our customers.
