The newly opened studio, which Pureprint has been preparing for use over the past few months, comprises a materials library, a colour viewing room and a meeting room. It aims to showcase a range of the company’s finished products, “from books to boxes and from brochures to retail displays”.
The studio is open to marketing and design professionals and is intended to help them develop projects or expand their knowledge.
“The idea behind it is to stimulate and inspire our customers. We’ve been encouraging paper merchants and bookcloth merchants to come in regularly to update their samples,” said Pureprint sales director Alan Ball.
“It’s a great space [for creatives] to come in with a very basic print spec. We can help to make sure that they’re specifying a project to hit a budget and look at different substrates to fit the needs of their customers.”
He added: “It’s also created a really good space for us to work. We’ve got customer service, estimating and salesmen that are based in that environment so it puts us at the heart of our clients and really gives us a space to work from and be able to react quickly if somebody wants to see us.”
The studio houses samples of more than 12,000 papers and binding materials from around the world as well as samples of a wide range of finishing and binding processes and colour proof-viewing facilities for accurate proof-checking, swatch-matching and colour mark-ups.
“The colour viewing room is well used and enables customers to confidently view proofs in the correct colour-controlled conditions, which is imperative on colour-critical work,” said Ball.
He added that the creative venue will also be the home of regular discussions led by significant figures in the world of creative print. The Pureprint Talks will cover a variety of topics, with an emphasis on upcoming projects and an insight into different techniques.
Scheduled visits to the studio from industry experts will also mean the space will offer skill-based workshops.
“Our specialists in packaging, direct mail and personalised products also come in regularly to run workshops for customers,” added Ball.
The company is also keen for younger members of the design community to visit the studio.
“Young creatives who are discovering the full potential of printed communications are particularly welcome,” said Ball.
Pureprint, which has a turnover of over £65m, employs more than 400 staff.
The company recently invested in five new Renz machines and opened an office in New York. Both of these ventures were supported by a £5.3m investment from the Business Growth Fund.
