News & Views from London's Leading Printing Company

Print & Paper: Myths & Facts #2

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:41:18 GMT

FACT #1 – Planted Forests Are Good for the Environment

These are forests that have been established through planting or seeding by human intervention, and over the past four decades, forests have moderated global warming by absorbing around a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities. Carbon sequestration in forests reduces the rate of carbon accumulation in the atmosphere, including keeping the air clean in cities such as London, and so reduces the rate of climate change.[1]

To ensure the long-term health of European forests, sustainable forest management underpins how the paper industry operates and sources its main raw material. A number of schemes exist to ensure forests are sustainably managed. The two most recognised are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

The FSC and PEFC operate a robust chain of custody schemes that track wood and wood fibre through every step of the supply chain, from the forest to the end-user. Both schemes have similar objectives:

the certification of forests to credible, independently verified standards of responsible forest management

conserving the natural habitats of plants and animals, and;

and respecting the rights of forestry workers and local communities.

Nearly 105 million hectares, 52% of the forest area in Europe, is certified.[2]

European forests act as a major carbon sink. Between 2010 and 2020, the average annual sequestration of carbon in forest biomass reached 155 million tonnes in the European region.[3]

In the EU27 + UK, carbon sequestration from forests corresponds to around 10% of gross greenhouse gas emissions.[4]

Forests are an extremely important part of the environment.

Well-managed sustainable forests give multiple benefits to society, such as livelihoods, ecosystem services and biodiversity, while helping to tackle climate change.

Source material:

[1] Government of Canada, Forest Carbon, May 2022

[2] Forest Europe, 2020

[3] Forest Europe, State of Europe’s Forest, 2020

[4] Forest Europe, State of Europe’s Forest, 2020

Print & Paper: Myths & Facts #1

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:33:35 GMT

MYTH #1 – European Forests are Shrinking

In fact, European Forests have been growing by over 1,500 (Dulwich Hamlet F.C)! football pitches every day!

Did you know over 90% of the European paper industry’s wood fibre originates from Europe? To prove wood is sourced from sustainably managed forests, the paper industry strongly relies on certification, in particular FSC and PEFC: 73% of wood and even 90% of market pulp comes from forest management certified sources [1], where the cycle of planting, growing and logging is carefully controlled.[2]

Forests, if managed sustainably, play an indispensable role in climate and biodiversity protection. They protect soil and water resources, provide livelihoods, and contribute to the wellbeing of rural and urban communities.[3]

Forests cover 31% of the world’s total land area and contain most of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.

Forests provide habitats for:
80% of amphibian
75% of bird and;
68% of mammal species.[4]

Forests cover 40% of the European territory and are growing in both area and volume. Currently, the total volume is approximately 28 billion m³, which is growing by around 612 million m³ every year. This is a net annual growth of more than 2% once the volume of harvested forests has been deducted.[5]

Between 2005 and 2020, European forests grew by 58,390 km2 !

That’s an area bigger than Switzerland and amounts to over 1,500 football pitches every day! [6]

The most common pressures causing deforestation and severe forest degradation are large and small-scale agriculture, unsustainable logging, mining, infrastructure projects, and increased fire incidence and intensity. [7]

Source material:

[1] CEPI, Forest Resources, 2023

[2] Cepi, Forest Resources, accessed September 2023

[3] Forest Europe, State of Europe’s Forests, 2020

[4] FAO, The State of World’s Forests, 2022

[5] EU Greensource, 2023

[6] Two Sides Analysis of FAO data, 2005-2020

[7] WWF, Deforestation Fronts, 2020

IPW1 is 1 in SE1! | IPW1

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 16:08:21 GMT

IPW1 is 1 in SE1 - One Year On!

Where does the time go?! Only one year ago we opened our doors in our new studio in SE1! IPW1 not only made a colourful start in SE1 but we ensured we made our new house a home. As well as needing more room we wanted to make sure our commitment and investment to innovation and digital printing technology was reflected in our brand. We'd refreshed the brand, we'd invested in innovation and we had the Xerox Iridesse Express! So how did we do?

It's who we ARE!

We want to Wow our customers with proper printing, by making ideas happen. But it's more than that. Not only do we want to be recognised for proper printing and our ability to blend vibrant eye-catching colours, we want to be recognised for our commitment to many of the big topics impacting us all; carbon emissions, reducing energy consumption, recycling, diversity and inclusion. It's early days, so there will be more to come. We expect it of ourselves, and our customers expect it too.

Splashing out on Merch!

We loved our brand with the splash of colours so much we started using them on notebooks, business cards, coasters, after dinner sweet boxes, sporting advertising boards, cycling hats, bucket hats, bobble hats, socks, t-shirts, keyrings, award sponsorship, fans and even a handbag!!

Making a House a Home

The zonal elements in our print studio means we can seamlessly move from digital or large format printing to finishing and packing to collection, moving at speed so we decided to reflect that with our internal branding on our wall vinyls. And yes, we do have a fish tank!

A Colourful Collaboration

We've continued to work with our long-standing partner Curate, a brand agency, to help us further develop our brand, keeping it fresh whilst still ensuring it represents our full range of digital offerings, stellar services and the great personalities within our team. This really needs to express how we bring print projects to life, especially with our advanced use of colour, colour blends & embellishments.

Black and white objects in the universe are still blasted with colour…all featured in our colourful calendar. This time from a doodle because, after all, colour's a doddle!

[they said you can't achieve banging colour on black card, oh yes you can we said!]

Community Engagement & Sustainability

We've long been a proud supporter of local football club, Dulwich Hamlet, The London Fire Brigade, brands that align with our values, such as Glamour Magazine & Rapha, and the hospitality sector as a whole including Institute of Hospitality and Gold Service Scholarship, printing their programmes and menus, and sponsoring the Casual Dining Award for New Concept of the Year 2023!

The Green Dream

We love all colour here at the Colourdome, but green is our favourite!

We invested in the latest Xerox technology to not only keep pace with digital print advancement but to ensure all the equipment we use is eco-friendly & energy efficient too.

We use DPD as our main courier as they have the best overall response to climate change by directly tackling the UK’s biggest emissions sources; transport & energy and in Central London we use our own IPW1 electric VW ID Buzz! Absolutely perfect for tackling busy London roads, without adding any emissions when stationary in traffic. And for speedy deliveries a pedal-powered cargo bike [or a Lime bike]!

Our main carbon neutral ISO 14001 accredited paper supplier ensures all their products are carefully sourced from leading manufacturers around the world, that all their papers, boards & envelopes are produced in an ethical & sustainable way and 99% of their portfolio is FSC or PEFC Chain of Custody certified.

Recycling is an intrinsic part of the paper loop - around 80%of UK-made paper utilises recovered paper which is by far the biggest source of recyclate from domestic waste streams. We ensure all our paper waste is collected and processed where it’s separated into types and grades - anything that can't be recycled goes to a waste-to-energy facility where it's turned into energy to power homes!

So from our renewable carbon-free electric to green deliveries to renewable FSC paper stocks and our recycling & reuse policy we are determined to continue our green journey into 2024 and beyond.

Innovation, innovation, INNOVATION!

We know technology and our customer's requirements don't stand still so nor can we.

From o ur advanced use of colour, colour blends & embellishments to binding & bookleting to bespoke packaging and notebooks made from off cuts, this year had it all!

We needed to bring our a-game, and boy did we deliver!

Digital Print & Print Technology

Our investment in print technology has really paid off. And we've really put our Xerox Iridesses [who've run over a million copies!], ink presses and large format machines through their paces this year - whether it's business cards, placecards, menus, programmes, posters or windows vinyls, we've printed them, and with our departmental zones improving our workflow, we've printed a LOT!

Thanks 2023, You've Been Huge!

But Roll on 2024, We're Ready!

So that's a wrap - our anniversary year in review. What a ride, and we think we came out on top as winners! Hope you've had a colourful year too.

And keep an eye on our socials, website and windows, you might see the odd doodle here or there, waiting for the IPW1 blast of colour!

What are you waiting for? We’re ready? Are you?

#truecolourhaslanded #welcometothecolourdome #coloursadoodle #coloursadoddle #colourmebad

Proper Eco-Friendly | IPW1

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 15:45:53 GMT

For nearly fifty years, we’ve been a trustworthy print and finishing provider to companies all over London and the South-East. We’ve grown to be the leading independent printer in London; we did it by looking after our customers and staff, whilst making the right decisions that impact us and our communities.

Our Commitment

We want to Wow our customers with proper printing, by making ideas happen. But it's more than that. We want to be recognised for our commitment to many of the big topics impacting us all; carbon emissions, reducing energy consumption, recycling, diversity and inclusion. It's early days, so there will be more to come. We expect it of ourselves, and our customers expect it too.

Green Deliveries

As of September 2024 we replaced our very own IPW1 delivery van with an electric VW ID Buzz! Absolutely perfect for tackling busy London roads, without adding any emissions when stationary in traffic.

We’ve used DPD as our main courier partner for many years as they have best overall response to climate change by directly tackling the UK’s biggest emissions sources; transport and energy - they made just under 5 million electric deliveries last year via their 3,600 electric vehicles that operate throughout the UK.

And last but by no means least, we already use a human-powered cargo-bike (blink & you'll miss Zsolt!)

If there's an urgent delivery one of the team has been known to hop on a Lime bike too!

Recycle & Reuse

Recycling is an intrinsic part of the paper loop. Around 80%of UK-made paper utilises recovered paper which is by far the biggest source of recyclate from domestic waste streams.

We ensure all our paper waste is collected and processed where it’s separated into types and grades. The paper is first washed in order to remove any impurities and then it’s mixed with water to create a pulp, which is then pressed, dried and rolled into large thin sheets of recycled paper. Anything that can't be recycled goes to a waste-to-energy facility where it's turned into energy to power homes.

We moved to recycled paper bags over 18 months ago as overall they're easier to recycle, &, because they are biodegradable, they can be used for many other purposes.

Reuse is at the heart of our business day to day. Our team lead the charge on sustainability at IPW1. They've spotted an opportunity to reuse off cuts, so rather than recycling them, they, in between jobs, cut & bind notebooks!

We are also using these off-cuts to create in-house eco-boxes for business cards. This means we have now moved away from plastic boxes so expect to see your business cards in our new eco-boxes - we can also add your logo on request.

Come & see us and pick up a free notebook!

Charitable Causes

In response to the first lockdown in 2020, the Caring Family Foundation (founded by Caprice Holdings Ltd owner Richard Caring and includes brands such as The Ivy & Harry’s Bar) chose to extend support and solutions to those in crisis, launching two campaigns that delivered 1.14 million meals nationally to NHS workers and children living in food poverty in the UK.

We wanted to play our part so we supported these initiatives by providing printed labels and delivering meals to our Charity of the Year, Alzheimer’s Society , with the support of Ambassador Richard Madeley.

The Gold Service Scholarship , launched in 2012, exists to inspire, educate and nurture the UK’s finest Front of House Talent. The Gold Service Scholarship only partners with leading professionals so we are honoured to have been selected as a Silver Sponsor for the last 10 years providing printed event programmes, certificates and giveaways for goody bags.

The Institute of Hospitality (IoH) , a registered charity established in 1938, is the world’s leading, award-winning, professional membership body for hospitality professionals around the globe.

We've supported the IoH Annual Dinner & Awards, held to recognise the best talent from across the hospitality industry, again by providing printed event programmes, name cards, table numbers, bags and chocolate boxes.

Health & Wellbeing

Our directors, Peter and Scott, are very active as cyclists and triathletes respectively and encourage the team to cycle to work wherever possible. Now over a third of our workforce regularly cycle to work.

We at IPW1 are a pretty relaxed bunch so when workload allows we support our team with earlier starts or finishes to the working day. We want our employees to be as happy and healthy as they can be so the hands-on directors man the pumps between Christmas and New Year. This means that our employees can enjoy an extra three days leave over the festive period.

We love giving our team the freedom to come up with ideas, either for the company or for our customers, which could see them recognised as Employee of the Month or receiving an extra bonus!

And should our employees ever need it, we also offer an Employee Assistance Programme that provides confidential mental and wellbeing support.

Community Engagement

We've long been a proud supporter of local football club, Dulwich Hamlet and love printing their programmes. Again branding and colour has to be on point, making sure The Hamlet faithful are happy! Sporting Programmes not only include Club and Team information but are a great place for local businesses to advertise. Check out our ad banner when you next head to Champion Hill!

With our directors' heritage firmly in Essex we also support Romford & Gidea Park RFC by printing vinyls for their clubhouse. And another one of our ad banners to look out for at Crow Lane!

Get in touch with IPW1

For any questions on our commitment to sustainability or print requirements s imply contact IPW1 on 020 7437 3200 or email us at hello@ipw1.co.uk .

5 Promotion Ideas To Increase Footfall in Your Venue | IPW1

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 13:15:26 GMT

Restaurants, bars and cafes often resort to special offers such discounts or 2 for 1 deals to attract new and existing customers. However these offers can often be a loss leader and don’t always drive customer loyalty.

There is good news though! In additional to Seasonal Specials, there are more creative and unique promotional ideas that will help you stand out whilst attracting and retaining customers.

Why not have a look at the five most successful strategies our customers use and see if they can work for you.

1. Sporting Events

Be it the Olympics, the Football World Cup or Wimbledon Tennis Championships, you don't have to wait four years or even have to televise all or any of the event. Why not capture the interest and enthusiasm with themed cocktails? Game, set and MATCH!

2. Special Calendar Events

We all like to treat our loved ones be that Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Valentine's Day, or enjoy celebrating Royal Family historic events such as the recent Coronation of King Charles. People love to create memories with a glass of something special or a bite to eat.

3. Reoccurring & Ongoing National and Regional Events

Indoors or outdoors, whatever the time of year, there'll be events the length & breadth of the country that you can find that'll resonate with, and attract, new & existing customers.

Why not try botanical themed cocktails for Chelsea Flower Show or a pre-theatre menu?

Give it a go & break a leg!

4. Private Dining or Event Hire

Private Dining and venue hire is incredibly popular - whatever the size of your venue, whether you have separate dining rooms or if you're able to hire out the entire space.

You could even hold an invitation only launch party following a refurb or a new opening?

There are so many occasions that will draw in new customers, from a works leaving do to a charity quiz night to a wedding reception, and everything in-between!

5. Uniquely You

Food Specials or welcoming our Furry Friends, find your unique whatever that may be! Take advantage of seasonal foods to update your menu or go the extra mile and cater for customer's pets with a Doggy Menu! Who's a good boy then?!

Get in touch with IPW1

There are savvy tips and tricks you can use to enhance your designs and get them print-ready. At IPW1, we’re always on hand to provide the help and support you need. Our dedicated team have plenty of experience when it comes to creating and editing your promotional artwork. If you’re stuck for inspiration, unsure about menu styles or whether a-boards are up for the job, talk to our team today.

Simply contact IPW1 on 020 7437 3200 or email us at hello@ipw1.co.uk .

10 Steps to New Window Vinyls | IPW1

Tue, 30 May 2023 10:07:23 GMT

Window vinyls are a great, inexpensive way to get your message in front of potential customers. They can be re-positioned and leave little-to-no residue when removed making them a preferred option for many restaurants, retail outlets, art galleries and many more. With these fun methods of marketing, you can showcase your brand personality, engage your target audience and achieve your goals …

This is the IPW1 'How to Install Window Vinyls in 10 Steps' - check out the detailed video at the end too!

[And do you recognise any of the song titles?]

1. Get Rid of the old Vinyl

No, not your classic record collection and do check the weather before you start! Vinyl can be installed pretty much rain or shine, but wind is the installers enemy! Make sure all old vinyl is removed, including all those annoying little pieces! Give the glass a good clean and wipe down.

2. Spray Hill Zone [Rainbow Outliners]

If your vinyl is wet application spray the window, put your vinyl face down and spray with soapy water again. The water solution makes it easy to squeegee from the centre out without trapping air underneath or wrinkling. You can use a credit card or piece of card if you don't have a squeegee. Turn the panel over a carefully peel the backing off then turn the vinyl over, either right to left or bottom to top depending which way you placed in on the window pane. We recommend bottom to top for larger panes.

3. [Brother], Won't You Join in the Line

Carefully match up the art if you have multiple panels or panes, trim off any excess when your design matches exactly, both vertically and horizontally! Reposition twice, cut once!

4. Picture - keep your window artwork handy!

If you have a multi pane window, it can be challenging to keep track of each window pane and where it fits in the giant jigsaw puzzle!

Print off a copy of the artwork, we taped it on the wall to keep it handy. And remember, it's just a guide, the actual vinyl will look slightly different. Size DOES make a difference!

5. Wiping All Out

Think about the wax on and wax off motions in Karate Kid, circular wipes to both dry off the vinyls and push out out any remaining wrinkles and bubbles. Don't be tempted to wipe down too soon, wait for the vinyl to be in position, matched and cut first. Wipe on, Wipe off, don't forget to breathe, very important...

6. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

The Cockney Rejects sang, 'I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air', and whilst this might motivate the Irons [Irons, Irons!] you do not want bubbles between your window vinyls and the glass! Take your time to push these to the edges, and keep wiping down each vinyl panel. It's a job for life!

7. Master & the Apprentice

Unless your window is small and you can reach the top of it without a ladder, it really is at least a job for two. The bigger panels might need a hand or your apprentice can stand back, help line up the pattern or design and provide words of encouragement!

8. Reflection

Slow and steady wins the race, don't rush this job. It's worth taking your time, getting it spot on and pausing to check the right panels are in the right place!

9. Ladders - right tools for the job

We know you know this but! If you do need to use a ladder make sure someone is there to hold it for you. We've Got This!

10. Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows - it's a wrap!

Now don't worry if there are a few bubbles left, water marks or streaks - these will dry out overnight, with remaining bubbles worked out the following day.

Time to admire your new window vinyls, you deserve it and you can be sure your customers and passer-bys will too!

If you are in SE1 drop by and enjoy the Sun with IPW1, we're Bringing Colour To Your Summer [and all the other seasons too!]

Scott's How To Guide...

Get in touch with IPW1

There are savvy tips and tricks you can use to enhance your designs and get them print-ready. At IPW1, we’re always on hand to provide the help and support you need. Our dedicated team have plenty of experience when it comes to creating and editing your window vinyl artwork. If you’re stuck for inspiration or you’re unsure about your installation, talk to our team today.

Simply contact IPW1 on 020 7437 3200 or email us at hello@ipw1.co.uk .

What's in a Name?

Tue, 16 May 2023 13:10:53 GMT

IPW1 Brand Development - Refreshing the Brand

You may have noticed we’ve taken the opportunity to spruce up the IPW1 Brand in 2023. We wanted to make sure our commitment and investment to innovation and digital printing technology was reflected in our brand, so we are still IPW1 Proper Printing, but now with a splash of colour! We’ve never been bashful but we’re standing out like never before, from the window vinyls on our creative space to our colourful walls, to our calendars and business cards. You can’t miss us, IPW1 has made a colourful start to 2023!

Patriotic Beginnings

In IPW1’s early incarnation we looked after customers from our Heddon Street W1 and New Burlington Street W1 studios initially as Sackville Photocopy but by the mid-eighties we had rebranded as Instant Print West One. Keeping with the red, white and blue theme our brand reflected not only our location but a pallet of paper!

Keeping It Simple

We often referred to ourselves as IPW1 so by 2018 we decided it made sense to adopt this name and with it a new simplified monochrome brand, logo and slogan.

Exhibition Stand Out

In 2022 we decided to exhibit at Casual Dining Show, the definitive restaurant, pub and bar event held at the London ExCel. We wanted to stand out and decided, alongside our sponsored lanyards for the event, a splash of colour in fluorescent pink was the way forward. And boy did it work! Following a fantastic couple of days, Food and Drink Matters, an advertorial-led publication ran a review of the Casual Dining 2022 and their journalists chose IPW1 as one of their Top 20 Exhibitors!

Location, Location, Location

Based on the runaway success of the exhibition stand we decided to use the pink colourful face again as our temporary window whilst we completed the refurbishment at our new studios in Tower Bridge Road.

We were tickled pink and proud as punch with our new London print studio and as the only London digital colour printing company with three shiny new Xerox Iridesse Express machines we wanted our windows to really showcase our brand and colour digital printing expertise. We were starting to think our monochrome logo by itself wasn’t reflective of our colourful capabilities. We needed something special and as much as we loved our logo and the Pink Lady, we needed more!

A Colourful Collaboration

Curate, a brand agency, and IPW1 bonded over menus several years ago and have worked together ever since. So naturally we approached them to help us develop our brand further with the specific request of ensuring it represented our full range of digital offerings, stellar services and the great personalities within our team, whilst making a statement and creating a real business impact. Our brief was simple. To really express how we bring print projects to life, especially with our advanced use of colour.

And Curate created a world where anything goes. The usual black and white objects in the universe, were blasted with colour – the penguin, the football, the domino, the snowman…all featured in our colourful calendar. We absolutely loved it and so did our clients!

Creating a Splash

In fact we loved the images, the splash and the colours so much we started using them on notebooks, business cards, coasters, after dinner sweet boxes, t-shirts, socks, sporting advertising boards, award sponsorship and even a handbag!!

Welcoming Windows & Walls

The next step was the internal branding on the walls and the windows of our new studio at Tower Bridge Road. “We want to create The Colourdome” our MD Peter said. Curate loved the brief and their imaginations ran riot as you can see from their fabulous mock-ups! And so, The Colourdome was born!

The window displays include an astronaut floating in with a balloon in a land of rainbows, zebras and peacocks, that really shows ‘True Colour Has Landed’ in our new home!

The Grand Reveal

The beauty of being a printer with digital colour and large format expertise means we can both print the wall and window vinyls and install them ourselves. And what impressive installations they are! What a way to welcome and wow our clients!

The IPW1 Iridesse Express

Our journey to SE1 started as we needed to house our three Xerox Iridesse Express machines so it seemed only fitting that they had their very own tribute wall! The IPW1 Iridesse Express is in Town with a light at the end of the tunnel that’s filled with a spectrum of brilliant colour!

IPW1 is Awash with Killer Colour

We love how eye-catching our brand is, the clear messaging and most of all, it’s a bit of fun – Curate really understood how crucial it was to get across our down to earth, friendly & attentive personalities and our approach within the IPW1 team.

It’s such a pleasure to work with open minds, creative briefs and a fantastic team. Keep an eye out for the next IPW1 window instalment…

And have a look at our website, you might catch a glimpse of the IPW1 penguin or the IPW1 astronaut floating by!

What are you waiting for? We’re ready? Are you?

#truecolourhaslanded #welcometothecolourdome #lettherebecolour #colourmebad