The family-owned Portsmouth firm began life as an arts, craft and copy shop based on Hayling Island that was owned by Colin Bishop, called Bishops Prompt Printers.
Chairman Martin Murphy kept the name when he acquired the business in 1985.
Today, Bishops Printers operates from a 7,900sqm factory – complete with 1,500 solar panels on its roof – and provides a range of services spanning litho and digital printing and mailing, with in-house perfect binding and saddle-stitching.
Core products include booklets, magazines, brochures, flyers and presentation folders.
The business typically produces more than 63 million stitched products a year, and more than five million perfect bound books.
It works for trade and direct clients, and offers a white label service.
Bishops has a continuous reinvestment programme with an average annual spend of £2.3m over the past three years.
Its most recent press buys included eight- and 10-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75s and an HP Indigo 100k.
The new post-press investment includes a six-station 14,000cph Müller Martini Primera Pro saddle-stitching line with cover feeder, which replaces an older device.
This takes Bishops up to three Primera Pros, making it one of the biggest users of the equipment in the world.
In addition, three Stahl RFU66 folders from Heidelberg, along with Palamides stackers, plus an additional TI-52 folder and a new guillotine complete the spend.
Production director Paul Cull commented: “Our people are at the heart of Bishops' investment strategy.
“Our finishing operators are highly skilled and adaptable, allowing us to flex with the demands of each job. Providing training on state-of-the-art equipment in a modern, well-equipped factory not only strengthens our capabilities but also instils a strong sense of professional pride in our team.”
The firm employs nearly 200 and had sales of £27.7m in its most recent accounts, for the year to 31 January 2024.
Bishops said the firm’s focus on investment, people and innovation and the evolving business needs of customers had allowed the firm to build a future where “quality, service, and efficiency remain at the forefront of everything it does”.
