The Dream Machine...

We Introduce you to 'Ani'!

We've only ever had Heidelberg presses - 14, we think, over the history of Maslands (it does go back a long way!!) - Good, solid, reliable German engineering. Now we have a new one, our Dream machine - The Audi R8 of printing presses - compact, sexy and powerful - although rather more friendly to the environment!! The Heidleberg SM52 Anicolor - one of only around 140 presses of this kind installed globally and the ONLY press of its kind in the South West...

So, what can she do? In brief, here are the benefits of 'Ani' at a glance...

• Up to 90% less waste we save around 400 trees a year, compared to our competitors
• 100% Offset Quality thanks to consistent inking
• Faster Turnaround with up to 40% faster job changes
• Digital Quantities at TOP Litho Quality
• Special Finishes

Want to know a bit more...

With it's revolutionary temperature controlled 'Anilox' inking units - which consists of fewer rollers, and works with absolutely consistent volumes of ink throughout the entire print process - 'Ani' produces print at a quality that exceeds even our expectations. With many of our Blue Chip clients, it is imperative that colour quality management is assured - 'Ani' hits the spot everytime, with impressive, even density of colour across the sheet and consistency throughout the run. Quality control, which can be complex and time consuming on a traditional press, is amazing on the Anicolor, often negating the need to run colour match proofs or to choose expensive spot colours.

We ourselves run digital presses, and whilst they certainly are impressive with short run, low value goods, there has long been a divide between this work type and the high end Litho work that we have historically produced. 'Ani' bridges this gap - We have a top quality machine, cutting-edge technology, that offers you incredible quality print, viable at digital quantities. As well as the ability to print on a greater variety of substrates than a digital press, still at top quality. We also have a coater and drying unit, shrinking turnaround times and enabling us to produce special finishes that can give your job that added extra impact. Versatile little number, isn't she...!

Along with 'Ani' we have also invested in a new automated folder and 6x station stitching line. With our advanced workflow, and the added benefits of our web2print and Web Approval systems, we have the advantage of being able to look after all of our customer's print needs, remain competitive and ensure quality.

Stop by and meet 'Ani' yourself - she likes to show off her curves ;)

FSC / PEFC / ISO14001 What do they mean?

You've probably come across these terms before, they are all standards that we as printers aspire to. They certify that we are doing the best we can to ensure responsible choice of paper stocks and careful management of the affects of our print processes on the environment.

We don't have any of these accreditations!

We did, we were ISO 14001 certified. But it took such a long time to do all the paperwork (a management team member full time for 6 weeks, at least) we were being taken away from doing your job - so we decided not to renew it, our time with our clients is paramount.

We work to all the standards required for FSC, PEFC and ISO accreditation AND BEYOND! We can prove this to you if you need us to - but we'd rather spend our time with you and your job.

We are passionate about looking after the world we live in and committed to reducing the effects our printing operations have on the environment. We continually review our policies and keep up-to-date with new ideas, being green is an ongoing commitment...

• Our recent £1m investment in cutting edge technology means we save around 400 trees a year (compared to our competitors)
• We use FSC, PEFC, Recycled and Renewable Stocks as a standard
• We use chemistry free plate making
• We have been printing with bio inks for nearly 15 years
• Our presses are optimized for low alcohol usage
• We sort all of our waste and, where possible, recycle it

We might not have the certificates, but we know we go the 'extra mile' for our planet. Take a look at the official websites and what they have to say...

FSC stands for the Forest Stewardship Council - www.fsc-uk.org - Founded in 1993 in response to public concern about deforestation, the FSC is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests

PEFC stands for Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification - www.pefc.co.uk - PEFC UK Ltd was established in 2000 and is a member of PEFC International, an international non-profit, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through independent third-party certification.

ISO 14001 - www.british-assessment.co.uk - was introduced in 1996 as an international standard to evaluate an organisation's environmental management systems. As such, it has similarities with ISO 9000 which is internationally recognised as the premier quality assurance award.

Web2Print.... Have a fiddle!

We could save you time and money with web-to-print... PROMISE!

Web-to-print enables companies to print merchandise using pre-agreed templates of stationery, without having to submit separate pieces of artwork.

Web-to-print is an innovative new concept that allows clients to upload artwork, or amend pre-set templates by changing graphics and designs and editing them online"

You can instantly amend or approve proofs, place orders from pre-set price matrices, and even receive your product in less time than it takes conventional printers to take your order and process a proof!

Incredibly advantagous for business that have multiple branches as orders can be managed by dedicated branch users, with overall admin control for min/max order quanities/values.

We can build you your own demo site, branded and controlled for you (no obligation), but if you'd like a little sneaky-peak first, click HERE and launch our own generic demo site for a hands-on play around! Just register as a new customer to enter.

Give yourself a break and buy what you need, when you need it, easily and hassle free!

If you think web2print would be great for your business, give Louise a call on 01884 252613

[Cue Jingle] "Printing Offer of the Weeeeek"

BUSINESS CARDS... Who needs them?! YOU DO!

Business cards are one of the most important marketing tools you'll ever create.

You hand out your business card to prospects and customers. You tuck your business card inside presentation folders, drop it in letters and use it in a myriad of other ways to let people know who you, what you do and how they can find you.

Your business card also, inadvertantly, gives all those who receive it an instant first impression of your business - Do you want to hand over a badly designed, unclear layout, with photocopy quality print on tatty dog-eared, flimsy card? What's that prospective client going to think?! Erm.... (cringes)!

They are not a waste of money - and it's not that expensive...

We can print you 500 business cards in full colour and on both sides - on TOP quality FSC 400gsm heavyweight board PLUS matt lamination to BOTH sides(!!!) for just £39*

If you need help with the design we can do that too, with costs starting from as little as £15!!

Give us a call for more information 01884 252613...

Quick then!

Social Media - Why do we do it? (Even though we're printers!)

Yes, we are printers! Producers of fine brochures & flyers, business cards & price lists. We can make any latest offer look amazing and send it to an endless list of recipients, in the tightest deadlines. And we do, frequently, for our clients and for ourselves.

But if you've read our blog and looked at our website, you'll know that we're a family business, a big happy team. And, yes, we can send you a beautifully printed pieces of paper, samples that show exactly what we can really do for you. But they don't tell you about us, about who we are or that we're a great bunch! They don't give you an insight into our personality or the ethics we work by. So, we joined the social media konga.

YES, we want Maslands to continue printing for another 133+ successful years. YES, we want you to choose us as your preferred supplier and YES, we want you to know that we are good at what we do! But we want you to choose all of these things because you've had the opportunity to see that we are a genuine bunch of people, who genuinely care about the job we do and the clients we work for.

Social media has become the new way to promote, connect and brand a company. "If your company is not using twitter then your company is going to miss out be crushed" is a quote I recently happened upon. Even twitter themselves realise the power of using twitter for your business, so much so that they’ve set up a special twitter 101. Twitter say...

We want to connect with people, some we know and some we hope to. We want to gain knowledge, advice and smiles from the information people share - and hope others will similarly benefit from our own skill, experience and news.

Hopefully one day you'll need something we can provide and our name will pop into your head... or twitter feed!

Follow us here!

Printing Business Cards | Postcards | Flyers | Leaflets | Compliment Slips | Stationery

Sets|Posters|Brochures|Folders|Greeting Cards|Gift Wrapping Paper | Rainbows...

We've identified the culprit!!

OK.. so whilst most of the goings on in our previous post have all happened and we do all wonder if Percy is indeed in our midst...

It appears that it wasn't him sat on the stairs last night, eyeing Shaun at work - but a rather more slippery suspect leaving his mark!!

Hope you had a fun day! ;)

Any explanations?

So, we have something REALLY weird going on!

Going back through the ages of Maslands, we had an employee called Percy Thomas Gale - dear old Percy. Percy worked with us for about 20 years and died circa 1985. Percy loved it with us at Maslands, a compositor back in the days of letterpress. We've often wondered if, after his death, Percy decided to come back and stay around the comforting aroma of fresh ink and paper.

Over the years we have experienced several 'anomolies' which we have always tried to explain with fact and logic - power surges, drafts, practical jokes! To name a few occurences - normally during late and night shifts or early starts - the photocopier has lit up and the scanner moved across as if taking a copy, but the power to the machine is not on. The 'lunchtime' football has been kicked across repro overnight. A team members loose tea change was stacked into neat orderly piles. I myself have sat at my desk on an overnight shift and listened to the doors swing and bang below me, as if someone had entered the repro department, only to check CCTV and see the only other member of staff stood loading his press. Doors have swung open vigorously before they have been touched. There have been loud bangs on the delivery entrance as if a driver is waiting with a load, only to discover no-one there and nothing showing on our CCTV when checked. Most frequently mentioned is the sight of someone walking across the mezzanine only when you look up, no-one is there (very recently mentioned by a recent temp worker, covering a night shift, who had no idea of our spooky happenings!). There is a general feel, when all is quiet, that you are not alone.

So you're probably thinking we're all mad, falling for the supernatural hype!! However, when an employee forgot to clock out yesterday, they asked if we could check CCTV to log the time they left. Not a problem... Just can't explain what else Tash saw on the CCTV!!

Now we really are all very rational people, but we're stumped! IS THIS PERCY?! (bottom right frame, click to zoom)