At Happy Creative everyone we come into contact with in our working day is treated with the utmost respect and a huge amount of warmth (along with a lovely brew and biscuit). Friends, clients, visitors and suppliers… in essence, everyone. It is very important to us that contact with any member of the Happy team leaves you feeling…well…happy! We are of the opinion that “what you give in a relationship is what you get in return”. This is no more evident than when we communicate with our suppliers, important partners in the “Happy Family”. Part of my working day is spent in communications with our print partners in particular. Whether it be quote requests, checking on artwork or delivery or just asking their advice I often rely on their expertise.
I’m always interested when we are updated on new technologies and innovations and am genuinely excited to see a new printing technique or finish. All of the print suppliers who supply us have invested millions of pounds to ensure the most up-to-date technical equipment is in place to ensure an excellent print/quality of finish. We know that highly trained and fully qualified printers will be producing your job efficiently and with care. Whether your printed media; a simple two-colour letterhead, full colour company brochure, magazine or catalogue is printed litho or digital, you can be assured of a superb quality.
Typical technologies utilised by our print partners include digital printing which allows for low volume, high quality colour printing, now achievable with the development of digital printing presses (both mono and full colour). Typically, with a sheet size up to B3 and with paper weights ranging from 64gsm to 350gsm, this gives flexibility in tailoring your marketing efforts. Digital printing is particularly suitable for short run business cards, flyers or brochures without a compromise on quality.
Whilst issues of quality and keen prices are of course, considerations when choosing a supplier, we are increasingly aware of the importance of being environmentally friendly (even more significant during 2011 which was declared the International Year of Forests by the UN). Many of our print partners have achieved accreditation to the Forest Stewardship Council’s Chain of Custody (FSC COC) programme. This means that clients can be certain that the papers and boards used to produce their printed matter can be traced back through the production chain to the sustainable source of the timber used in the wood pulp production. Choosing print partners who are FSC accredited helps both us and our clients to minimise our environmental impact, in effect, we are all doing our part in responsibly managing the world’s forests.
Our suppliers are rightly proud of their commitment to sustainability and our relationship with them is enhanced because of their commitment to improvement and to behaving responsibly and ethically. We have the utmost respect for all our print partners, many of whom we have worked with since we started out. We challenge them occasionally with a particular project or timescale but invariably and without complaint they always deliver.
Debbie Lewis is a Customer Support Executive at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
