UK initiative improves UK printers’ competitiveness

Vision in Print, in conjunction with Premier Paper, has introduced
‘Premier Snapshot’, a not-for-profit initiative intended to help
individual UK printing and packaging companies improve their
performance. Detailed examinations of a participating company are
carried out to identify areas for improving productivity,
competitiveness and profitability. The scheme covers UK printers of all
sizes and in all sectors.
The organization was formed following an industry-wide forum supported
by the Department of Trade and Industry. It published the Print 21
industry competitiveness study report in 2001, which highlighted
several strategic actions that British printers should take. The two
key areas were optimizing productivity and adding more added-value
services. One outcome was the creation of ViP in 2002 with a five-year
funding agreement of 2.3 million run by an independent board. It has
since carried out 60 profiles of  companies, ranging in size from 16 to
450 employees. They include several label converters, including OPM
Group based in Keighley, West Yorkshire, Ormerods in Manchester and
Label Appeal in Leicester.