Based in the North West, The Print Quarter is a design and print company with a difference.
Established in 1983 by Geoff Bailey, it is now headed-up by his two daughters, Julia Gaudie and
Claire Bailey. “Unlike many print companies today, we place a lot of emphasis on providing
great customer service,” said Julia. “We produce excellent quality design and print and can
be relied upon to deliver on time and on budget,” she ad ded. “However, having said that, we
don’t aim to be the cheapest printer in the business. We employ very experienced and skilled
staff and our mission is to provide an efficient service producing the best solutions that meet
our client’s needs. You can’t do that on a shoestring.”
In fact when many print companies let you design your own cards and leaflets online, The
Print Quarter have not gone down this route. “We’re firm believers in the, ‘horses for
courses’ mentality,” said Claire. “Why would you design your own business cards or leaflets
when you’re not a graphic designer? After all, you wouldn’t take out your own appendix
would you? Customers are often amazed and delighted at what our designers come up with.
Great design can mean the difference between your company looking like a homespun start
up or professional outfit that people will have the confidence to deal with. Design is an
investment that pays multiple dividends just as amateur dabbling in design can potentially lose
you business.”
The company’s customer base is wide and varied and includes hotels, manufacturing,
architects and builders, restaurants, hair and beauty salons and even horse whisperers. “We
like to get to know our customers and their businesses” said Julia, “so that we can advise
them on what products or design would work best for them depending on what the end goal
is for that particular item to achieve.”
Print is an ever-changing medium with new products and processes appearing almost daily,
so how does The Print Quarter keep up with this? “We invest heavily in the latest software,
printers and finishing kit,” said Julia, “Our equipment is top end and well maintained thus
ensuring that we can produce great print quality and on time. This is not a business to get
into if you’re planning on pocketing the profits,” she said, “the majority of ours go back into
the business, but possibly that’s how we’ve survived so long.”
Finally, what about the fact that the business is run by women in what is traditionally a very male
dominated industry? Has this thrown up any problems? Both ladies smile, “It is quite amusing
when customers think that the male members of staff must be the owner or manager,” said
Claire, “but between the two of us we have over 48 years of design and print experience and
after a few minutes of talking to us, they know that we know what we’re talking about. So
no, it’s not a problem. Nothing is a problem here,” she said smiling.