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ROUNDTABLE INNOVATION
processes and how we can produce it as
efficiently as possible, getting it through the
factory as quickly as possible with the lowest
number of touch points. Looking at things like
customer service too.
Paul Manning We quickly jump on products in
the discussion, but you’re right, it has to be
service as well. We try to do both. In this
Amazon age, where people want to track
everything, that’s something we’re looking at.
And when it comes to staff, we haven’t really
got a formal approach like Alistair, but we just
talk a lot in the office. Probably because we’ve
got the luxury of not being so big. But sometimes,
good ideas come out of that kind of
approach. It’s also about avoiding a culture of
fear, though, because some people are really
scared of making mistakes and they don’t put
forward an idea because of that.
PH Well, if you’re not making mistakes, you’re
not innovating.
AE I would say ours are not very structured
meetings laughs. But one of the things we do
that is useful is put out everything we did last
week. Because everyone knows what they’re
doing, but not necessarily jobs that other
people have done.
PM We had that problem, so we put together a
shared photo album. It’s quite a good customer
resource, not a public customer resource
though, as there’s stuff on there you wouldn’t
want to show people. Everyone laughs.
PM Not that kind of photo laughs.
Peter Jolly You said that you make sure that
staff know they will be forgiven if they make
mistakes – does that extend to suppliers too?
PM No laughs.
PJ Good to know. I just want to make a point
though; you share best practice among individuals
here and in your businesses. But we see
Printweek April & May 2020
maybe 500 customers every year and we see
the general themes. And getting back to
Darryl’s point earlier, I think it’s clear that if
you’re going to innovate, you need a clear head
– times of stress is not the time.
What does drive innovation then?
Mike Malpas You hear people talking about the
fact that there’s not the expertise anymore, that
the print buyers of 30 years ago are no more,
because nobody values print anymore. And I
say to people all the time that that’s an opportunity
for us to be better. I was talking to the
team on the way here this morning, asking
what we do to innovate, and they responded
everything, because it’s about always trying to
be better. We had a job come in that was a suite
of work – 20 items. It has been printed by
somebody else. It comes in and it’s all different,
same colour, but all different shades of it. Our
repro guys checked the values and they’re all
different, the client did the artwork and it’s all
wrong. So, we correct the files, print and
deliver a suite of work that is right. Is that innovation,
or is that just doing our jobs properly? I
met a potential client yesterday, and at the end
of the meeting I said even if we don’t get the
PETER JOLLY
UK&I country manager HP Indigo and HP
Web Press
MIKE MALPAS
Managing director Hampton Printing
PAUL MANNING
Managing director Rapidity
work, you have my number, advice is free.
Martin said about culture, I’ve been at the
business for 36 years and I’m told our
machines are the cleanest around. We employ
two cleaners to clean the factory which is polished
all the time. It’s just in the thought process
of everybody in the business, be the best
we can.
RC Is it hard getting customers to buy into that
– having to pay a premium to go the extra mile?
MM Some won’t do it, which is fine. You know,
we’ve got a new website coming out soon. And
I’ve written a piece for it and I say, we’ve got to
be lean, we’ve got to be efficient. But this
industry at the moment is obsessed with
speed. Let’s be efficient in different ways. Let’s
be lean, sure, but let’s also be better. If we fail, I
want to fail doing what we believe – but hopefully
we won’t fail.
PH That’s really important, what you’re saying
about our industry needing each other out
there, creating brilliant print and giving print
its reputation back; that it doesn’t have to be
commoditised. So that we can all survive and
thrive and give print the great name it
deserves.
FS Not all print is the same.
But it’s about being fit for purpose, and in
some instances commoditised print is fit for
purpose and has a valid place in the market.
It’s just at a different end of the market.
DM And commodity-based print has driven a
lot of innovation. It’s driving automation
throughout the factory, and we all benefit from
that.
AE HP, and I’m not just saying because Peter’s
here, were very active in the market, reaching
people we couldn’t reach by going into the
advertising agencies to talk about print. And
that pushed innovation as well. We very rarely
get very high within a client or agency. In the
good old days, it wasn’t uncommon to talk to
a creative director, now it will more likely be
The industry is
obssessed with
speed. Let’s be efficient
in different ways. Let’s
be lean. Let’s be better.
If we fail, I want to fail
doing what we believe –
but hopefully we won’t
fail” Mike Malpas Hampton Printing