Bollington Printshop owners celebrate fifth year in charge with new services
The owners of Bollington Printshop will celebrate their fifth anniversary in charge of the business this year.
And Bollington's Matt and Vikki Wray are hoping to provide their best year of service yet.
The design and print store provide an essential service for the local economy, and have probably played a part in your personal or professional life without you even realising.
Whether it is printing wedding invitations or providing the artwork and stationery in your office. Macclesfield Nub News met with Matt, Vikki and their employee Charlie Lunn to reflect on the past half-decade.
"I first came in here when I was 14 on work experience, I came back after sixth form and worked for 25 years," said Matt.
"I got into it as I loved creating cartoons, and found it interesting. But I never thought then that I would end up owning the shop.
"Everything I've learned in the trade is by doing it. Whereas Vikki has followed the more academic route, so we are opposites in terms of our strengths but that is why we work well together and offer a high quality of service.
"Artists, small businesses and events are our top three types of customers," said ex-King's pupil Vikki.
"We get a lot of work from event organisers and private individuals planning events, that's why Macclesfield Nub News appeals to us as a service because of the What's On section.
"The importance of print in our world of digital communication is massive," said Vikki.
"It is permanent. It catches your attention. Once you scroll past something on a computer or phone, it is gone. Whereas if something is printed, you know where it is, it is easier to come back to and is more trustworthy.
"There's something personable about it which appeals to people as well."
"Word of mouth is very strong in the print business, and of course in a small place like Bollington," Matt also said.
Matt and Vikki, who met in 2006 and have two young children, are known across the Happy Valley, and are eternally grateful for their loyal customers.
One of their missions in 2023 is to meet even more new people, helping them with any enquiry no matter the size.
"Hundreds of businesses in Bollington use us as lots of people run small businesses from their home, but with Vikki's networking there are thousands of customers in Macclesfield and Cheshire," added Matt.
"At one time it was about 500. Bollington is one of these places where a lot of companies are not on the high street but behind close doors."
The average turnaround of a request is three-to-five days, but it can take longer if the task is bigger.
Customers can pay extra if they need a job doing ASAP.
"We've always been very resourceful over the past five years," shared Matt.
"At the end of this week we're getting a new machine that will be able to print on clothing, mugs and much more, as we've had so many people come in and ask for them saying they'd want it quickly.
"So instead of outsourcing we are trying to do more and more things in-house. This creates a better service for the customer, as we have more control over the quality of everything.
"What is amazing about the tech we use now is that it is faster and more efficient."
As they are a family business - like it was when they took it over from another local family - Bollington Printshop pride themselves on putting extra hours in and going above and beyond for the customer.
With the recent Royal Mail strikes, Matt has gone the extra mile to make sure customers our satisfied.
"We can literally work through the night if we have to," revealed Matt.
"We are changing the way we do things a bit to ensure the only people we are relying on now our paper suppliers and ourselves.
"The final quarter of the year is when we are busiest, and we'll also be celebrating our fifth anniversary since we took over the business then.
"As well as individuals buying gifts, we have all the businesses around Bollington who are selling stuff and want to send things off over Christmas.
"Last Christmas I was working until 10, 11 at night to make sure we fulfilled our orders, despite the strikes slowing everything down.
"We're at the end of April. We've already had our first Christmas card order, believe it or not. The earliest in the year we've ever had!"
Being a small family business, the friendly firm thrives on honesty, which creates loyalty with their customers.
"We know most of us customers that come into the shop by name," added Vikki.
"The big difference between an big online print firm and us, is that you've got a human dealing with your enquiry who cares what they are doing.
"When it comes to price, sometimes there really isn't much difference. But frustratingly, people presume that places like Vistaprint are the cheapest: this is not always the case and we can certainly provide an overall better quality of product.
"And you'll be getting the benefits of one-to-one customer service here. For example, if there is a mistake or if you're forgot something, Vistaprint won't tell you.
"We had a lovely lady who asked us to print something for a wedding last week, but we told them that there was no RSVP for guests to reply, which they hadn't thought of. If they were to do that online, that mistake wouldn't have been brought up and they'd have ended up spending more as they'd be paying for two separate things and their postage over a longer length of time.
"We'd like to thank everyone for their support over the last five years, and look forward to many more."
Bollington Printshop are hoping to share celebrations their fifth anniversary with another Bollington business who is sharing their half-decade in business later this year.
Bollington Printshop are keen to support local charities where possible and have recently worked with Beechwood Cancer Care in Stockport on a fundraising event.
They also have a Children's Air Ambulance charity pot in-store.
Bollington Printshop is located at The Old Stables, Queen St, Bollington, Macclesfield SK10 5PS. However, it is accessed easiest via parking in the adjacent free-of-charge Pool Bank Carpark.
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This piece is a sponsored feature. Thanks to Bollington Printshop for your support of Macclesfield Nub News. To advertise with Macc Nub, please email [email protected].
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