Trio of print professionals launch new company

Andy Middleton, Justin Hallam and Helen Gaunt

Three well-known figures in the region’s printing industry have joined forces to launch a full production print firm, based in Lenton.

Print Co has taken a unit at Lenton Business Centre to house the creative, production and print elements of the new business, which is headed up by directors Justin Hallam, Helen Gaunt and Andy Middleton.

Hallam leads on fitting, whilst Gaunt heads up the production management element of the business. The trio want to double staff numbers by the end of the year.

Sales and marketing director, Andy Middleton, an industry veteran of some 35 years, who is also the regional director of Nottingham-based Catena Network, the business dating network, said: “Helen, Justin and I have worked together in various roles throughout our careers and have explored different career paths over the last five years or so. We felt that the time was right to reunite and offer something a little different for companies looking to increase their brand awareness.

“Whilst digital media seems to grab all the marketing headlines and is hugely powerful, print media and physical assets still have their place, especially when they dovetail with these campaigns and are integrated.”

In his role as director of Catena Nottinghamshire or “Nottingham Too” as it has been dubbed, Middleton has been working directly with SMEs across the region and the wider UK and feels that a decent percentage of work will also come from businesses seeking to add a physical asset into their client campaigns.

“It shouldn’t be a battle for budgets between digital and physical marketing assets – they can work wonderfully when they are aligned or they can operate very nicely in isolation too when crafted with care and executed with flair and expertise.

“Our core work will typically see us working on physical marketing pieces such as printing, signage, vehicle graphics and promotional merchandise but we are also getting a lot of enquiries from companies and office design firms that want to add a little “oomph” to their receptions, boardrooms and creative areas in terms of impactful graphics on a large scale.

“Gone are the days of relying on tired old offices. Forward-thinking firms are proactively creating workplaces that employees, both current and future, will want to be in. They need to feel energised about coming into the office, especially post-lockdown and with the rise of remote and hybrid working.”

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