When we started out from the building we still occupy on Argyle Street in Finnieston, the industry was very different. For one thing there were a lot more printing companies. Glasgow had numerous printers that has large traditional litho printing presses. As time has passed, many of these old companies with long histories have disappeared as the printing market has evolved.
What we used to print
Something that has changed dramatically is the profile of the work that we do. When we were starting out, business stationery was by far the largest proportion of our work. Letterheads, compliment slips and business cards accounted for over 50% of our orders. We had special “Stationery Packs” where you got a discount for ordering all three together – something for which there just hasn’t been a demand for over a decade now.
That’s not to say we don’t sell letterheads and compliment slips. We do, but mainly to the professions – solicitors, accountants and consultants continue to use these products.
The one stationery item where demand has remained strong across the board are business cards. These continue to be popular products across all sectors, but the styles have changed. Whereas there used to be 2-3 main options, you now get a massive range of business card styles, with finishes like soft-touch laminate, duplex and triplex card stocks, embossing and debossing, spot UV varnish and various others.
Other popular items that we built the business on were nightclub flyers and takeaway menus. These really were the backbone of the print industry at the turn of the century. Fridays were our busiest days as we got all the flyers ready for the weekend. Takeaway menus were ordered in bulk and some printers specialised in only this market. Nightclub flyers are effectively gone now, and while we still print some takeaway menus, websites and food delivery companies like JustEat and Deliveroo have pretty much eradicated this product.
Our product mix today is now much more focussed on higher-end bespoke print products. Lots of custom, on-demand digitally printed products, fabric printed exhibition stands, outdoor signage and large format printing, and well as stalwarts like presentation folders, brochures, annual reports and the like. We also specialise in menus. Not the old takeaway menus that we used to print, but more durable products like cocktail menus, heavyweight laminated menu booklets, and wipe-clean synthetic menus.
We’ve also pivoted part of our business to digital, and a significant part of business is now web design, and services like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising and Social Media marketing.
The Rise of Digital Print
The biggest technology change of the last 20 years has been the evolution of digital printing – from a low-quality, cheap and cheerful alternative to litho printing, to its present form where it is hard for even industry professionals to tell the difference.
The benefit of digital printing is that there are no plates – we can print 1 of an item as easily as we can 10,000. Litho presses still require you to produce plate for each of the colours of CMYK, so initial setup costs are high and it’s not economic to print small volumes.
The upshot of this is that both of these printing methods are still thriving. However, it’s no longer a question of quality in deciding which to use. Digital printing is ideal for short and medium-run printing that is required relatively quickly. It’s also ideal for print jobs where there are lots of variations, and where projects are highly bespoke and require lots of different processes. Litho printing comes into its own when we’re printing high volumes. A lot of the cost of litho printing is front-loaded as setup costs are high, but as the volumes increase the unit cost drops dramatically. It also still has some advantages in being able to print on heavier stocks, and with a smoother dot makeup. However, these changes are diminishing as digital technology continues to evolve.
Changes in the neighbourhood
It wouldn’t be right to reflect on changes in the last 25 years without mentioning the transformation of our home – Finnieston. When we opened, Finnieston was a very different place. It wasn’t the trendy, vibrant area that it is now. Many of the units were empty and boarded up. The legendary Crème de la Crème Indian restaurant was still open in the old Kelvin Cinema. (The restaurant closed and the building was knocked down in 2005). The Two Ways pub where Rab C Nesbitt was filmed was directly opposite us, and that certainly didn’t have a small bites menu or a beer garden!
Nowadays Finnieston is a Glasgow hotspot for restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Practically every unit is occupied, and there are non-stop proposals for new flat developments.
Something else that was evolving was the SECC (the present day SEC). The exhibition halls were there, as was the Armadillo, but the Hydro wasn’t even thought of. Neither was Glasgow’s reputation as a host of international conferences and conventions. More and more prestigious conferences are being held in Glasgow, mostly at the SEC, arguably culminating in the COP26 climate conference held here in 2021. However, even if that might have been among the biggest conferences that ever been held in Glasgow, there is no shortage of demand for Glasgow as a host of these events. We’re only 5 minutes walk from the SEC and provide printing services to many of the conferences and exhibitions here there.
An exciting future
It’s been a very interesting (nearly) 25 years, and things in our business have evolved more than we would probably have imagined. We’re looking forward to seeing what the next 25 years brings! We’ll continue to invest in the latest printing technology to make sure that we stay at the forefront of the industry in Glasgow.
