The answer is, as so often: it depends.

“Print as an end-product is under represented in overseas trade,” says Alastair Gardner, international trade advisor at UKTI Yorkshire & Humber. “There are opportunities, but if you think it’s about sending reams of paper halfway around the world then you’re in for a nasty surprise.”

So how can you establish whether exporting is for you or not?

The first port of call should be the regional office of Gardner’s employer, the UKTI if you’re in England, or its sister organisations – Scottish Enterprise, Welsh Trade International or Invest NI – if you are located in one of the other countries within the UK. 

“If a company comes to us we will assess the potential for their products overseas,” says Gardner. 

This audit will identify what your USPs and strengths are, and if there are any overseas markets with a need for what you can do. It’s likely that the majority of a typical commercial print firms’ traditional offerings don’t exactly lend themselves to overseas trade. 

Take it slowly

That’s not to say it’s lost cause, but more that before you start racking up the air miles and banging your head against a brick wall, you might be better off taking a less aggressive approach.

“Some businesses may want to explore exports in a more hands-off way,” says Gardner. “For example, they may want to add a section to their website and wait and see what, if any, interest it generates.”

An example of that approach is online t-shirt printing firm the T-Shirt Foundry.

“It wasn’t an initial focus, but people kept asking us,” says founder and director Steve Winn. Now exports account for 15% of its sales, or 20% if you include orders placed by UK companies for shipping to overseas customers. 

While initially overseas buyers sought the firm out, it subsequently realised that exporting was an opportunity and has adapted its business to suit. Most significant is the development of a multilingual website available in French, German, Spanish and Italian. 

“For other companies it may be apparent that there is more of an immediate opportunity, in which case we’d work with them to develop a strategy,” says Gardner. “The more distinct your product offering then the higher the chances of exporting successfully. It may be something that doesn’t exist in a particular overseas market.”

The trick to exporting seems to be about finding a niche in your home market, and then seeing if there’s an opportunity to expand overseas. This is exactly what Find Signage did. 

“We know there is a global demand and that equivalents don’t exist in other countries,” says Anthony Cockcroft, managing director of the Leeds-based firm that specialises in display graphics to assist people with dementia.

Having developed its products, and identified that it had the all important USP, the firm then safeguarded its intellectual property to prevent anyone from copying it. 

That is echoed by Mercian Labels, which has two products developed for global markets that now account for £750,000 of business, around a quarter of the firm’s sales of £3.3m. Both are niche products for global markets. Label Lock, tamper-evident labels and Gammatex sterilisation indicators, which undergo a colour change when exposed to gamma radiation.

“We developed both with the knowledge that the primary markets were overseas,” says managing director Adrian Steele. 

Another example is plastic card specialist Thames Card Technology (TCT). According to managing director Paul Underwood some 30% of the firm’s business comes from outside the UK, predominantly Europe, but latterly Africa too. TCT’s market is a global one with larger multinational rivals. 

“Our USP is our level of service,” he says. “We can offer a truly bespoke service and because we’re relatively small we can make a decision and get it through very quickly.”

Patience is a virtue

A word of warning though: if you do identify an opportunity overseas don’t expect instant results. It’s time-consuming and the rewards often take a couple of years to get off the ground and several more to produce a worthwhile return.

“Services such as Passport to Export can be expected to take 12-24 months to complete from the initial contact with an international trade advisor,” says Gardner.

Mercian laid the foundations in 2005 by appointing a sales director with experience of setting up global distribution networks, a full three years before its first overseas sale in 2008.

“You’re looking at five years to get a return on your investment,” says Steele.

Cockcroft agrees: “It’s a lengthy process. We’ve been working on developing our exports for two and a half years and so far we’ve only scratched the surface. It’s like starting from scratch with a new business, but one where it takes three or four times as long as it would in the UK. It’s a question of being patient and having perseverance.”

Making contact

One of the most time-consuming aspects is making contact with overseas firms, both customers and sales partners. Choosing the right route to market overseas will depend on many factors. The type of product and the target customer base will have an impact, as will local custom. 

“In some countries we use agents, in some countries we deal directly with the client; it’s a case of what is required on a case-by-case basis,” says TCT’s Underwood.

Finding customers and partners can be done with the help of UKTI, which can access British Embassy staff around the world to identify and approach local businesses. It can also help identify overseas trade shows to attend, and trade bodies to approach.

Cockcroft is full of praise for the UKTI’s services in helping Find Signage look overseas, but adds he also put a lot of his own legwork in too. 

“I spend a lot of my evenings trawling the internet looking for distributors overseas rather than watching TV,” he says. “Technology makes it easier but ultimately you need to meet face-to-face.” 

You need to expect a few false starts and to kiss a few frogs before you find a suitable overseas suitor. As is often the case ultimately it comes down to personalities.

“Not every relationship is fruitful,” cautions Steele. “If it works for both sides and you get on then it should be okay. But contracts are pretty much unenforceable across borders. If it’s a bad relationship a bit of paper won’t enforce it.”

There’s one last option – the armchair exporter. By UKTI’s definition, if the money is flowing to the UK from abroad it counts as an export, even if no goods leave the country. There are overseas firms looking to trade with Britain who need locally produced print to promote their products. In that instance you could find yourself doing business overseas without having to leave home. 

Advice from the Federation of Small Businesses on exporting

Do your research. Before you commit to exporting you need to honestly assess your company’s export potential; both in terms of the business and the product or service you are looking to sell.

Detailed market research is essential to identify and evaluate the target market. UKTI and its Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts, can provide focused business advice and help you assess whether there is a market for your goods.

After the research, comes export planning defining how you will enter the new market. Some important things to think about include:

1 A clear marketing strategy that incorporates international trade development and the necessary financial resources needed.

2 Resource – Do you have the right people in place to develop the new export markets and adequate knowledge of the requirements of your chosen market - eg modifying packaging to meet local regulations and standards?

3 Make sure you are fully up to speed with export payment mechanisms and export finance.

4 Careful consideration of selling and distribution in overseas markets. How will you organise your sales presence in export markets through direct selling, a strategic partner, a distributor, a sales agent, or your own local office?

5 How will you market your products? You’ll need to appreciate the traditions, culture and legislation of the countries you are trading with to exploit your exporting efforts and customise your marketing efforts accordingly.

6 An understanding of legal obligations as an exporter. You’ll need to familiarise yourself with the VAT rules administered by HM Revenue & Customs.

7 With exporting identified as an important driver in the UK economic recovery it is definitely worth considering. Careful research and planning may appear time consuming in the beginning, but will play a vital part in avoiding any potential problems further down the line.