Direct mail firm gets Kodak’s stamp of approval

Some people curse the arrival of marketing items sent in the post, but the Leeds-based direct mail printer Lettershop Group (TLG) believes it is still a great way of getting your message across to millions of potential customers.

The company has become one of the sites chosen to trial a technique for a new four-colour ink-jet process developed by Kodak.

TLG has been selected to run the trials on a system that allows companies to produce personalised printed items on runs from one to a million and at rates of up to 650 ft a minute.

It will also mean that mail-based marketing campaigns are more likely to reach the right people, which should create less waste and frustration for companies and consumers.

As part of the development project, two Leeds technicians have just returned from a spell with Kodak in America.

The new system means that retail and leisure brands can “individualise” every promotional mailing they send to their customers.

TLG has its origins in a modest stationery business, launched in 1886 by William Alfred Smith. His great grandson John Hornby, a leading figure in the Northern Direct Mail Association, is the current chief executive of the family firm.

TLG opened its 140,000 sq ft purpose-built headquarters in Whitehall Road, Leeds, in 1992.

After significant capital investment, the firm employs 200 staff and has a £25m turnover. It hopes to hire more staff in the near future.

Recent acquisitions have included the latest five-colour Heidelberg printing press, which is used for large scale print runs.

The company also has a proofing room, which is staffed by four specialist proof readers.

Production manager Mark Ward said: “We have become pre-eminent in the industry for providing innovative services to accurately target mailing campaigns.

“Using the latest 3D CAD design systems, we model flat pieces of paper into the most intricate three-dimensional mailers. It’s a bit like origami but from another planet.”

Mr Ward, who is also a welder, is part of an in-house research and development team that includes engineers and electricians.

He added “We have created and fabricated our own customised finishing lines.

“There’s no doubt this and our technical expertise has encouraged Kodak to entrust us with these important trials.”

The company has developed its own software programmes to speed up the mail sorting process and reduce costs.

According to executive director Simon Cooper, this commitment to keeping innovation in-house has helped the company to stay ahead of the competition.

He added: “We’re totally self-sufficient in the design and build of our own kit.

“We’re committed to lean manufacturing and have worked closely with the Manufacturing Advisory Service to achieve best practice in all areas. Our expansion is self-funded. We carry no debt and we’re in a strong position to continue expanding.

“We also have a policy of promoting from the shop floor up, which is how many of our long servers have progressed.”

The company is also working with local colleges and schools as part of a strategy to encourage more young people to enter the print industry.

Mr Cooper added: “We have taken on another eight people recently.

“The new process will be the benchmark of a system that will be the norm in the future.

“This technology really will lead to more targeted campaigns.”

Commenting on the trading environment, he said: “It’s tough. We see how it goes month by month. We want to keep differentiating ourselves from others in the marketplace. Paper is a medium that can still work for marketing.”

The printing industry is still a major employer in Yorkshire, in spite of the growth of internet-based marketing platforms.

According to Print Yorkshire, the printing industry in Yorkshire makes a £1.35bn contribution to the region’s economy and employs nearly 20,000 people.

Print Yorkshire is a lobbying and support group that aims to ensure that the print and printed packaging sector in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire continues to grow.

Last month Robert McClements, Print Yorkshire’s chief executive, said that “the print sector was at the forefront of technological advances”.