The Lincoln-headquartered business opened the new leased office, located between Glasgow and Edinburgh, on 1 April. Lorraine Noble-Thompson has been appointed as a director to head up the new base.
Managing director Graham Hunstone said the move marks “an important milestone” in the company’s growth plans.
“Scotland is my home country and I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that I’d like to open an office there, and thought we could do pretty well up there,” he said.
“Lorraine has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry and shares the same vision to provide a high-quality print and design service.”
Noble-Thompson added: “I’m really excited to work with Graham and get started on our plans to grow the brand in Scotland. We currently have a few clients in and around Glasgow and I am keen to expand our connections and share our passion for print and design in Scotland.”
One or two other people will be taken on to support Noble-Thompson in the new office, according to Hunstone, but print production will continue to take place in Lincoln, where the company operates kit including a Xerox Versant 180, which was installed in November, a Xerox Color 770 and a 2016-purchased Mutoh ValueJet 1324X.
The business has also just launched its move into promotional print this month, which will see it sell more than 700 new products including branded umbrellas, power banks, notebooks, bags, and phone chargers. The production of these items, which will all be available to order through the company’s website, will be outsourced.
“We’ve got 2,500 customers that buy this sort of stuff but don’t know that we can supply it. But we’ve been testing the water with them and it’s gone crazy,” said Hunstone.
“As well as pushing it out with our regular customers, we will also start to look at new accounts for this type of work. It’s about adding value and making Visual Print more of a one-stop shop.”
Visual Print & Design was set up in 2009 to provide print management services to businesses based in Lincolnshire. It moved into production in 2014 and acquired Derby-based Go Digital the following year.
The business now has 12 staff, including Noble-Thompson, and turns over £1m in Lincoln. It is targeting a turnover of £250,000 for the new Scotland office in the first year.
