The 460sqm site in the Docklands, East London event space has been opened in order that Callprint can fulfil its requirements as a Tobacco Dock incumbent supplier and also create an innovation space for new and existing clients. The site officially opened yesterday (24 July) although the group began the “soft relocation” phase around a month ago.
The 25-staff site will house a combination of the London Callprint sales team, the Jupiter Visual Communications special projects division and its 2Creation design division. It has been kitted out with a Fespa-launched HP Latex 335 Print and Cut, an HP 570 Latex and two HP PageWide XLs, a 4500 and an 8000.
Callprint group director Ben Moss said the move to Tobacco Dock had been under consideration for around 18 months, during which time it had been fulfilling special project requirements for the space and had “watched it grow”.
“What we’re doing as we grow Callprint and the divisions within the group is defining our strategy for growth,” said Moss.
“The repro side of the industry is flatlining and not growing but the major growth is in special projects, flagship retail, experiential events, sports and property.
“With that in mind we wanted a location that really shows our full spectrum and how diverse we are as a business, bringing together clients under one roof in a creative atmosphere. It’s not all about production but is actually showing clients added value.
“The emphasis here is on the state-of-the-art meeting spaces, educational places for clients, and it’s in a really creative environment that has got that ‘Shoreditch’ feel to it. I think it’s really unique in the marketplace and we have done something quite different to the usual way of just saying ‘Let’s open another factory’.”
The move has sparked other changes within the group, with the print-on-demand side of the Farringdon site, which housed Jupiter Visual Communications, relocating to Callprint’s Great Portland Street flagship site, while Farringdon will now be dedicated solely to large-format. Callprint is now looking to relocate the Farringdon site to a purpose-built factory in East London. Both sites have circa 21 staff.
The Farringdon site has taken a new 3.2m-wide HP Latex 1500 to aid its focused large-format offering.
“The additional kit coming in is fantastic,” added Moss.
“HP have been really supportive. They think Tobacco Dock is really exciting and something different that’s not been offered in the marketplace. We’re really happy to be working with those guys and it’s created a real buzz and excitement within the business.”
Callprint has a number of other sites across the UK, with more than 200 staff and £17m sales.
Last year, it announced that it wanted to double its “off the street” business with a new promotion products on-demand service.
