Prinovis UK is one of Europe’s best invested, financially secure publication gravure printing businesses and is now the last publication gravure printer in the UK, maintaining a competitive position in the European print market. Prinovis is Europe’s largest printing services provider; founded in 2005 as a merger of the gravure operations of Arvato (Bertelsmann), Axel Springer and Gruner + Jahr.  Now Prinovis is part of the Bertelsmann Printing Group.  In total it employs 2,300 people across our three production sites in Ahrensburg, Dresden and Nuremberg in Germany, corporate headquarters in Gütersloh, a Paris office and Prinovis UK in Liverpool where we employ almost 500 full time employees. As a gravure printer Prinovis UK produces a mix of supplements, contract magazines, flyers and catalogues for many of the UK’s leading retailers, as well as magazines and supplements for many of the UK’s leading publishers. These include The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Argos, Ikea, Shop Direct, OK! Magazine and Hello Magazine. With the recent investment in its first web offset press, Prinovis UK’s production site is now evolving into a hybrid print plant providing customers an even wider range of print marketing services under one roof.

Set up in 1827, The Printing Charity is the UK’s second oldest occupational charity and the only dedicated charity for the printing, paper, publishing, packaging, and graphic arts sectors. The industry has changed beyond all recognition, but our work is as relevant today as it has always been. Our aim is to help those in genuine need across the sector through our practical and emotional support, as well as championing the sector as a vibrant place to work with a great range of opportunities for young rising stars. We help people of all ages throughout the UK who might face changes in their personal circumstances, such as ill health, redundancy, or changes at work. Applicants need to have worked in the sector for at least three years, not necessarily consecutively or for the same employer, or they may be dependants of people who have. For those needing further support, we signpost to specialist services such as debt advice, housing, and counselling. It is not always easy for people to ask for help, but our Welfare & Wellbeing Team are a friendly voice at the end of the phone. We also work strategically with industry partners to attract and retain new talent in the sector and are passionate about the younger generation having access to training that provides pathways into employment and career progression. Our annual Print Futures Awards offer grants of up to £1,500 to help UK residents aged 18 to 30 years develop their workplace and personal skillsets. Please see www.theprintingcharity.org.uk for more about our work.

Aktrion has been an innovator in the development and delivery of support services to Newspaper and Commercial Printers since its establishment in 1992. They are now an employer of over 3000 people with a European infrastructure and also operate in Automotive, Food and Transport sectors. A unique combination of business improvement skills, management expertise and a Partnership approach means Aktrion deliver excellent performance faster and over sustained periods. Long term customer relationships have resulted, and as market/customer needs have changed, Aktrion has focussed on the continued development of skills, breadth and depth of capability to meet those challenges with its Customers. Aktrion has extensive knowledge of the operation and maintenance of a wide range of equipment. Working flexibly to meet individual Customer requirements Aktrion deliver total solutions (the transfer of whole or part of production process) or multiple or single managed tasks or services. Underpinned by externally validated Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality Management Systems, change management activity is driven to ensure higher productivity and consistently high service quality. Our people are key to delivering excellence and we provide training and development opportunities and a career path for those who wish to progress. We have extensive experience of managing people through the process of TUPE transfer without negative impact on the production environment. Services include: Transport Management, Planned Engineering Maintenance and Projects, Reel Intake, Plate Making, Pressroom Support, Bindery Management, Mailing, Despatch, Materials Handling, Facilities Management, Professional Services (Health, Safety and CDM, Fire Safety, Compliance and Value Engineering, Training and Consultancy) Contacts: Ben Pearson Email: Neil Dixon Email: Mark O’Connor Email:

Set up in 1827, The Printing Charity is the UK’s only dedicated charity for the print, paper, publishing, packaging, and graphics sectors. The industry has changed beyond all recognition, but our work is as relevant today as it has always been. Our aim is to help those in genuine need across the sector through practical, emotional, and financial support, as well as championing the sector as a vibrant place to work with a great range of opportunities for young rising stars. We’re here to help anyone who might face changes in their personal circumstances, such as ill health, redundancy, or changes at work. For financial support, applicants need to have worked in the sector for at least three years, not necessarily consecutively or for the same employer, or they may be dependants of people who have. We also signpost to specialist services such as debt advice, housing, and counselling. Our sector wide free and confidential helpline, offering 24/7 access to practical and emotional support from trained specialists, is being rolling out into companies for employees and their families to use. Get in touch if you think this could benefit you and your employees. Along with our core services, we are passionate about the younger generation having access to training that provides both pathways into employment and career progression. Our annual Rising Star Awards offer grants of up to £1,500 to help UK residents aged 18 to 30 years develop their workplace and personal skillsets. Please see www.theprintingcharity.org.uk or find us on social media @printingcharity Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram

Flint Group offers newspaper printers the ease of mind that comes with working with a dedicated industry leader. With a 250-year heritage and forward-thinking strategies, Flint Group remains fully committed to the news industry and looks forward to continuing to help publishers and printers inform readers across the region. Newspaper printers choose Flint Group’s conventional, and eco-friendly news inks for many reasons, including: Reliability of products, support and security of supply; Continuous Improvement that drives the company’s efforts to continually increase customers’ ease of doing business, improve safety, process innovation and efficiency, and reduce product complexity, waste and costs; and Trusted, committed leadership backed by an expert team of employees who are undaunted by technical challenges and collaborate with customers to help them manage their total cost to print. Flint Group’s vision is clear: to be the leading printing ink supplier to heatset, coldset and sheetfed segments, offering the best quality and reliable service at the lowest possible cost, creating a sustainable future for the company and its customers. While coldset ink has been a staple of Flint Group since their early beginnings, the company offers many other products as well, including: a vast range of conventional and energy curable inks and coatings for most offset, flexographic and gravure applications; pressroom chemicals, printing blankets and sleeves for offset printing; photopolymer printing plates and sleeves, plate-making equipment and flexographic sleeve systems; pigments and additives for use in inks and other colorant applications. With a strong customer focus, unmatched service and support, and superior products, Flint Group strives to provide exceptional value, consistent quality and continuous innovation to customers around the world.

With over 30 years experience in commercial print, with an established reputation for producing high quality magazines and catalogues precision colour printing is at the forefront of the printing world. Not only this, but precision colour printing has gone on to win the award for Print Week’s Consumer Magazine and Catalogue Printer of the year on three occasions. Putting our customers at the centre of their business Working closely with their customers to gain a full understanding of their needs, they pride themselves on a true partnership approach with effective communication. With a dedicated Customer Service Representative managing each account, their customers can rely on a reliable and responsive service. What PCP do Specialising in Magazines, Company Brochures, Catalogues and Mailers, print is their business, their livelihood and at the very heart of all that they do. They foster a culture where employees take pride in their work and with a policy of providing their staff with continual training of the highest standard they have the latest skills at their disposal. It is an approach that continues to attract the very best print professionals. Working within the community As well as attracting and recruiting experienced staff from within the industry, Precision Colour Printing recognises the need for recruiting and training from the ground level, creating employment opportunities and training for people in the local area. Precision Colour Printing has recruited a number of apprentices in conjunction with the British Printing Industries Federation. By working alongside local colleges they plan to offer sustainable employment in the Press Room, Bindery and Engineering departments. Investment Since 2000, they have also invested over £20m in new equipment, including a Xerox C1000 colour digital press from Fuji. Their Komori web press was installed in September 2013. The 50K cph press comprises of 2x16p or 1x32p duplex will add a further 45% capacity for business growth to handle an increased volume of contractual work and to strengthen their relationships with long standing and new customers to provide the highest levels of service and quality levels to be proud of. Quality Investment in the latest equipment would mean little if their finished product did not meet client expectations – this is why they employ a rigorous checking process throughout all of their print runs – achieving the ISO9001 Quality Control accreditation. They’ll confirm that they are committed to every project, treat each piece of work as if it were their own, always respond to requests quickly, can be relied upon for speedy turnaround, apply the utmost care and attention to their work and are cost effective. Caring about the environment With a serious commitment to the environment, they continue to reduce their carbon footprint by the usage of recycled paper and paper from sustainable forests, the recycling of waste products, complying with recently introduced solvent emissions and by constantly reviewing their energy efficiency. Through these measures they have achieved both ISO14001 Environmental accreditation and are fully FSC and PEFC certified.