Common themes include security of supply and a constant quest for cost-effectiveness in a world of ever-diminishing turnaround times. What’s clear is that print is facing an ever bigger challenge as digital encroaches on more and more areas of print.

The National Trust
The National Trust has more than 4m members, and print plays a vital part in the overall package of member communications, which include an annual handbook and members’ magazine published three times a year. Printed collateral such as information leaflets and guides are also an established element of visits to the Trust’s properties. More than 14m people per annum visit The National Trust’s pay-per-entry properties, and 50m visit its open spaces.

Graham Prichard, print and production manager says: "We are always faced with the challenge of spending members’ money and getting best value. In the four years since I joined the National Trust, it’s been a constant process of looking at how we can do things smarter. One example is that we’ve reduced the paper weights for the magazine and handbook and are looking at doing similar things with other printed collateral.

"Our newsletter used to be managed as a regional item, but we have consolidated that into one printer, whereas before it was at nine printers. By doing that, we’ve achieved cost savings and we’ve reduced the environmental impact because there are fewer trucks on the road going to and from various printers.

"Our aim is for all of our material to be on 100% recycled paper, although it’s not always possible to achieve that. There are certain items that can’t be: for example, we can’t get a rigid enough board for our membership pack in recycled fibre. We are approximately 90% compliant, which is not bad for an organisation of our size. Reducing waste throughout our processes is also an area where we’ve done quite a lot of work and have made some pleasing improvements.

"There are some interesting digital print developments coming along that we will take a look at, although for our requirements the price for analogue versus digital still comes down in favour of analogue. One of the ideas we’re exploring is a variable cover for our newsletter, which would mean we could dispense with the carrier sheet required currently. We could create a personalised newsletter for any member in the country with content that was relevant to National Trust properties within 30 miles of their home. Certain printers are looking at digital web technology that would be able to do it, if we get to that point. There could be some good innovations for us in long-run digital printing when the cost becomes viable.

"Part of my role is to constantly look at print options. We have a very strong supplier base and are very happy with them. But I have to keep up to date with the market. The sale of St Ives Web is an example of how things can change very quickly.

"Our procurement strategy is about economies of scale, rather than simply squeezing people on prices. There are all sorts of ways to consolidate and be more efficient about what we need. We know that our suppliers have to make a profit to be sustainable and to be able to reinvest. But for all of us the paper industry needs a reality check. If they were more intelligent about the way they impose price increases people would know where they stood. One increase a year is realistic.

"My team and I spend our time trying to buy smart, and you need knowledge and experience of processes to do this. An example is the annual voting papers that go out with the magazine. This year, rather than a separate booklet in the mailing pack, we created a section in the magazine on a different paper stock, with a throw-out that included the papers. It worked brilliantly and improved the voting performance while at the same time driving costs out, so it was a win-win. It all comes back to having knowledge about what can be done."

Matalan
Founded 26 years ago, clothing and homewares retailer Matalan now has 212 stores across the country, along with a burgeoning online sales offering. The group posted sales of more than £1bn in its last financial year.

Paul Dykes, print manager says: "From the retail side of things there’s been a step up in marcomms print. We are getting more exposure through using inserts and we’ve seen growth in that area over the past three-to-four months. We’ll possibly look to do that again with the new season campaigns.

"In my department, we touch on every single area of print and we are always investigating different ways of producing things from a unit cost point of view. Digital production is becoming more prevalent. We are looking at increased personalisation and things like variable product placement to target the right customer with the right product at the right time.

"We are just starting production with a new weekly digital piece that’s about 10,000 a week, and we have more campaigns coming on-stream. It gives us flexibility at the right unit cost, while making sure we get the right return on investment.

"Our use of digital printing is completely dependent on the product and the piece at the time. We are using long-run digital as well as short-run. And we’re also discussing the possibilities for four-colour personalisation.

"Something that Matalan has been doing is putting on local store challenges. These involve events to generate footfall in-store such as a special £5 knitwear promotion. This type of thing could involve anything from 4pp broadsheets, to 16pp A4s to single-sided flyers. Speed of turnaround is absolutely vital, as we have a lot of tactical and fast-moving campaigns. We could find out about an intended promotion on Tuesday and it will go live in-store on the Friday with all the necessary print collateral in place. Our print suppliers have to be very reactive.

"Part of our role is to ensure we have the right supplier mix, so this can be leveraged to meet the requirements of the business. We are not just interested in the cheapest, we are interested in the most cost-effective and best method and this is a totally evolving picture. We are always in communication about better ways to do things: price, quality, speed of turnaround and making sure all the specifications are met across all the substrates we print on. I’m off to discuss some future projects with one of our printers today, as it happens.

"We see things getting busier and busier. We are spending an increased amount of our marketing budget on print to support online and in-store communications. It’s an important part of the marketing mix."

Honda
Honda employs almost 180,000 people worldwide and alongside its well-known cars and motorcycles, the Japanese company is also a major manufacturer of power products, including generators, outboard engines for the marine industry, and general-purpose engines. Its corporate philosophy is ‘respect for the individual’ and it operates under the principle of ‘the three joys’, expressed as the joy of buying, the joy of selling, and the joy of creating.

Chris Minshull, buyer, Honda Print Management says: "We’ve just done a car launch for the new Civic without producing a single printed item except an A5 leaflet. The whole thing was based around content on Motorola Xoom tablets in our showrooms – what would have been a brochure and loads of leaflets was this one item. There were no flags and no pop-ups.

"I’m not saying that’s indicative of where we’re going, but, for this launch, it was deemed that a new and innovative approach was required. We are printing brochures and posters for the new Civic now it’s actually been launched, though, and our day-to-day printing requirements are pretty stable.

"Tight turnaround times are the norm for us. We recently produced a 48pp brochure that had to be printed, laminated and bound in two days.

"Digital printing makes up perhaps 10-15% of the work we produce and we are interested in doing more. However, colour matching between litho and digital, and the print quality on some of the tints we need to produce, is an issue with digital at the moment. And the print quality is so good from the litho printers we use, so whenever we do something digital, someone will pipe up about its quality.

"We work with a consortium of printers and don’t chop and change them. We only take on companies that meet a set requirement for financial stability. Yes, sometimes there can be cheaper prices in the market, but with the lead times we work to, security of supply is critical."