Julian Marsh, Adrian Stark, Alan Rigglesford and Luke Jennings have set up a new business, CPW Solutions, which has become an exclusive Ricoh business partner for certain products.

The quartet have more than 100 years’ of collective experience in the printing industry.

Marsh was most recently director of commercial printing at District Photo Inc, the owner of Harrier in the UK where he spent nearly seven years developing the firm’s offering. He also owns a number of pubs and bars in the Newton Abbot area.

Stark was one of the first employees at Indigo when it set up in the UK in 1994. He spent 12 years at the manufacturer before moving to Ricoh, where he worked for more than 16 years as commercial print sales manager.

Rigglesford was managing director at Clicks Print and then Kingswood iOptus. After Kingswood iOptus was acquired by Paragon Group in 2018, he spent nearly four years at Paragon’s Service Graphics business.

Jennings joined the industry in 2009. He also worked at Kingswood iOptus, and prior to that at Hobs Reprographics.

The quartet have been associates and friends for many years, and would meet in one of Marsh’s pubs to catch up, chew the fat, and discuss industry happenings and this is where the idea for the new venture blossomed, tempting Marsh, Rigglesford and Stark out of semi-retirement in the process.

“We had many discussions about how we missed the passion and culture of print, and how printers were always striving to win through adversity,” the CPW team said.

Stark told Printweek: “The focus will be on the pre-media workflow, however we have access to the whole portfolio so engines will be involved.

“But our leading focus is around solutions – I know it’s an over-used word – that help PSPs streamline production, cut costs and add margin. They’re not massive ticket, but they have a very high return on investment potential,” he explained.

CPW Solutions can also offer other products that do not directly compete with the Ricoh portfolio.

Stark also noted that “we think we’ve got a unique mix in the team”, with Hastings handling social media and targeting potential clients in specific markets; Rigglesford and Marsh’s lengthy experience running printing businesses; and his own long-standing relationship with Ricoh.

“When we put all of that together, and have discussions with PSPs, we’re probably somewhat different to other people. That’s part of our USP.”

Some of the new products involved in the fresh offering are currently under embargo and not yet released in the UK, with further details to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Marsh stated: “The things that excite me about print always have done, especially technology and applications. That’s what’s attracted me to get involved.”

He quipped that the CPW name had involved “pulling Scrabble letters out of a bag”, with the genuine origin story currently under wraps.

Rigglesford said the launch of the new business had already generated a considerable number of calls and interest.

He, Marsh and Stark have spent three days at Ricoh’s Telford facility this week undergoing a deep dive into the product range.