TRADE PRINTERS | DAVID OSGAR At the tail end of last year, Print Monthly interviewed general manager of the Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA), Brendan Perring, at the IPIA’s Recognising Excellence event. In the conversation, Perring emphasised how the industry is evolving, and how print businesses are changing to meet market demands. Perring said: “We see a massive trend for diversification being necessary, whether that’s getting into display printing, wide-format, or web-to-print, but also it’s important to focus on your strengths in-house and use trade service providers to buy and sell more products in order to say yes to your customers.” When asked his recommendations to improve business growth, Perring pointed to looking at profitable parts of the business and utilising trade printers as much as possible, the latter of which he thinks could be the backbone of the industry in the future. He said this would allow businesses to take higher margins of profit, instead of doing work at cost. “The trade printers are your friends – use them, build connections with them, diversify, and grow your product portfolio, without taking on the overhead yourself,” added Perring. With this advice in mind, as well as the many growing and expanding trade printers in the industry, we speak to businesses that service the trade to see what they can offer print service providers (PSPs) and beyond. More Than Just Print As mentioned, diversification has been identified as a major theme within the industry over the past few years, which has led many trade printers to offer more products and services. This is an aspect recognised by Bishops Printers, a B2 commercial printer based in Portsmouth. Michelle Pearce, commercial director at the company, says: “Trade customers are increasingly looking for more than just print. They want partners who are proactive, who spot opportunities to help them win and retain work, and who won’t disappear when things don’t go to plan. They expect the speed and price points of an online service, but with the added value of real human support.” Pearce says that Bishops is continuing to invest in automation, reporting, and environmentally responsible production in order to support customers with what they need. “Ultimately, it’s about being easy to work with, helping our trade clients grow, and staying one step ahead of what they’ll need next,” she adds. Working at Bishops Printers has given Pearce vast knowledge of the industry, especially due to her working across multiple departments like finance, sales, and marketing. This knowledge and experience is something that is extremely useful to clients who often have to focus efforts on customer satisfaction and winning new clients. Speaking about the business, Pearce says: “While litho is at the core of what we do, our investment in digital over the past decade means we’re now equally capable across a broad range of run lengths and turnaround times. We’re known for being dependable – delivering high-quality print on time and on budget, whether it’s a short-run digital project or a high-volume As more and more printers change the way they operate, and customer demand changes, David Osgar speaks to several trade printers in the industry to hear their advice and the areas of growth which could be of use to PSPs SAME TRADE, NEW SOLUTIONS 73 www.printmonthly.co.uk September / October 2025 - Issue 356
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