The group has evolved from an online forum set up by Printing Plus owner Howard Turner in 2011 for ex Prontaprint and Kallkwik franchisees, following the collapse of their parent company On Demand Communications.
UKDPN, which is being administered by a committee of five ex-franchisees and so far has almost 50 members, will be formally constituted on 17 November at its first AGM which will be held at Coombe Abbey, in Warwickshire.
Members must be ex-franchisees and are required to pay an annual fee of £100 to support administrative activities such as the running of its forum and work carried out on the group’s behalf with prospective suppliers.
Bruce Shepherd, owner of Polkadot Design and Print in Manchester, is one of the UKDPN’s five committee members and is responsible for negotiating with suppliers on behalf of the group.
He said: "Working under this common banner gives us real buying power. It gives us the opportunity to talk to key suppliers and negotiate some good rates.
"And any deals we get from suppliers will go directly to the members.
"Our members are really solid upstanding businesses who will work independently but also now have the benefit of using the UKDPN name. As an organistaion we represent about £30m worth of turnover."
Shepherd added that group members were so far "bowled over" by the response they were getting from suppliers in relation to buying negotiations as well as the upcoming conference.
Canon, EFI, Presco, Creasestream, PaperCo, Accura and the IPIA are lined up as sponsors and exhibitors for the conference while the event’s headline speakers are Olympic medalist Rebecca Romero and 6th Door’s Chris Dawson, who will head a presentation called Growing your Business by Influence and Persuasion.
For more information about the conference contact Paul Knapman at paul.knapman@blueyonder.co.uk
