Printing buy puts mail team in control

Feb 19 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A FAMILY-RUN mailing house business has taken on its own in-house graphic designers after adding a colour printing franchise to its services.

Team Valley-based Washington Direct Mail (WDM) has created one full-time and one part-time graphic designer job, plus an additional mail account handler since adding the printing.com franchise last October.

The printing.com concept is that the customer orders items locally and they are printed as part of a larger run from a hub in Manchester, so reducing costs. Previously, WDM would receive text directly from the client and the images would often be sent via courier, with the possibility of more delays.

Managing director Lynn Beasley, 49, said: “Now we can do the whole thing. It has made a heck of a difference. It’s keeping things tight and under our control.”

Ms Beasley has owned the business, which employs 19 people and calls on agency and casual workers when required, for 13 years. Her mother helped to start the company in 1984 and following a career in the travel business, Ms Beasley came on board when she was pregnant with her eldest son Jon, now 22.

She said: “Mum retired and the printer was selling up. I said, ‘Right, I want to buy it’.”

WDM, which operates printers running at 6,000 letters per hour and envelope inserting machines running at 4,000 units an hour, remains very much a family concern.

Ms Beasley’s partner John Robinson is the production manager, her eldest son is the technical manager and her younger son, David, 19, is the production co-ordinator.

“I think they’ll kick me out soon!” she said. “They’ve got young ideas. They keep me up to date.”