Q I've just spent an evening with a pal who is a buyer, usually for office furniture, catering supplies, office stationery, etc. His remit has been expanded to food packaging. Do you have a list of food packaging printers north of the Birmingham area that he can contact? Much of his packaging is currently done in eastern Europe, although his employers are unhappy with quality and service levels. He wants to bring it all closer to home and be able to control it better. He does have a decent understanding of basic print, but this is an area new to him.
‘Boris the Fox', via printweek.com

A A couple of recommendations came in from Helpline forum readers. ‘Sam Deonavon' said "B2B1 in Manchester seem to know what they are doing when it comes to packaging", while ‘Rol Roland' recommended Jimminsons and Afterprint as being "definitely worth talking to".  I added Benson Group as another contender. Contacts: B2B1 Print + Packaging, tel: 0161 431 0213, www.b2b1.co.uk; Jimminsons (who supply specialist packaging finishing services such as folding, gluing and assembly), tel: 0115 986 6456, www.jps-ltd.com; Afterprint, tel: 0115 942 4600, www.afterprint.u-net.com; Benson Group, tel: 01530 518 200, www.bensongroup.co.uk. See below for a crash (lock) course in carton formats and any other suggestions, please get in touch. 

Q I work as a buyer for the Royal Mail Group and have recently inherited a specialist inks requirement. I am faced with a dilemma: I need to contact potential ink producers for a relatively small and low-value ink contract. I was wondering if you could let me know if there is a list of small ink producers or an industry body who would be able to notify me of potential suppliers for my specialist ink specification?
Name and address supplied

A The name that immediately springs to mind is Cranfield Colours in Cwmbran, tel: 01633 861421, www.cranfield-colours.co.uk. You could also try Gardiner Colours in Normanton, tel: 01924 222600, www.gardinercolours.com, and Classic Colours in Reading. Although Classic specialises in waterless inks, it also produces conventional inks in metallics and fluorescent colours, tel: 0118 931 1301, www.classiccolours.org.uk. Otherwise, the membership of the British Coatings Federation may provide further options. The association covers firms involved in the production of various types of coating, including print ink. There's a product finder in the member directory at www.coatings.org.uk.