08.05.07
SWIG investment integral to Cornish print company's growth

A Cornish print company at the forefront of the emerging digital and variable data print industry is looking forward to an even brighter future after securing essential investment from South West Investment Group (SWIG).

Integral Print Services (iPrint), formerly Falmouth Print Group, received the £50,000 loan from SWIG as part of a wider finance package, enabling it to move to brand new premises at Carn Brea Business Park, Pool and purchase new equipment to keep up with demand for its services from a growing worldwide customer base.

Having developed a bespoke on-line Print Management System combined with its print services, iPrint customers are now able to view, change, order and monitor the production of their print items from anywhere in the world 24 hours a day.

The development of this system has put iPrint at the forefront of this developing sector of the print industry and has not only led to the company building a growing global customer base but also seen growing numbers of South West based businesses making use of the innovative service.

With the company requiring larger premises and more print machinery to meet demand, iPrint's MD Bob Russell was introduced to South West Investment Group by Lloyds TSB Business Banking Manager Nick Rawley to help fill the funding gap.

Mr Russell said: "We saw the potential that the on-line print management system gave us and our customers and invested a great deal of time and money to develop it. The result was two fold - we can now spend more time working with our clients initially to determine their needs and less time on the general administration side as our customers are able to view, amend and order print items from their own offices when it is convenient for them, whether they are five minutes down the road or 5,000 miles away.

"The result was that we outgrew our premises as we needed more space and equipment to keep up with demand. Nick Rawley, who was helping us put our finance package together, introduced us to SWIG.

"We found the whole process very straight forward and SWIG were able to come up with a viable package that has made a massive difference to what we have been able to achieve, including the move to our new premises and the purchase of new digital printing equipment," said Mr Russell.

As a result of the funding, iPrint now hopes to further expand its workforce over the coming months.

SWIG Fund Manager John Peters believes the Objective One backed investment from its Cornwall Business Growth Fund will take the business onto even greater heights.

"It was clear that Bob and his team had invested a great deal of time and effort in developing some highly innovative and effective printing solutions for their clients which were enabling them to increasingly looking towards a global marketplace. This development therefore has great potential for growth and the creation of skilled jobs locally, making it ideally suited to our type of funding." said Mr Peters.

"We are very much looking forward to seeing the benefits of our investment as iPrint moves into its next stage of growth," he added.

For more information about the Cornwall Business Growth Fund contact 01872 223883 or visit www.southwestinvestmentgroup.co.uk.

For further information please contact Graham Buckley/Karen Adkins of Mercury Public Relations on 01736 763004.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in South West Investment Group through the European Regional Development fund (ERDF).

Editor's notes:

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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