Archive for the ‘Purely news’ Category

Mastering the Art of Early Christmas Printing: A Comprehensive Guide by Purely Digital

Monday, June 12th, 2023

The idea of contemplating Christmas in the late summer months may seem premature to some. Still, when it comes to business, early preparation for Christmas printing can be a strategic move that pays dividends in the long run. This comprehensive guide explores the benefits of planning ahead, provides a detailed timeline, and offers invaluable tips to ensure your holiday print projects with Purely Digital are executed seamlessly.

The Strategic Advantage of Early Planning

“Why think about Christmas now?” you might ask. The answer lies in the strategic advantages that early planning provides. By addressing your Christmas printing needs well in advance, you’re demonstrating exceptional organisational skills and freeing up valuable time in your business schedule that can be redirected towards other critical areas demanding attention.

August – Pricing and Plan

As the summer winds down, it’s time to dive into the nitty-gritty of your Christmas promotions. Start by listing down all the promotional materials you’ll need. If you’re grappling with ideas, consider contacting Purely Digital, where many creative suggestions await. Obtain quotes early, allowing you the time to carefully budget for your holiday printing endeavours.

Planning ahead in August provides a solid foundation for the subsequent steps in your Christmas printing journey. With pricing and a clear plan, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions that align with your business goals.

September – What will it look like?

Now that the groundwork is laid, it’s time to bring your visions to life. Begin the design phase of your Christmas materials. If you need more artistic skills or time to create the artwork yourself, consider tapping into the expertise of Purely Digital. Their professional design services can elevate your holiday prints to new heights.

Allocate ample time for the design review process, ensuring every detail is meticulously examined. With a month at your disposal, this stage allows for revisions, feedback, and, ultimately, the creation of perfect, eye-catching artwork that reflects the essence of your brand.

October – Place your order(s)

With your designs polished and approved, it’s time to take the plunge and place your orders. Whether it’s Christmas cards, calendars, wall planners, or other promotional items, October marks the deadline for securing your print materials. Remember that certain items may have longer lead times, so prompt action is essential to avoid any potential delays.

This step is crucial as it ensures the timely production of your materials and considers the anticipated surge in demand within the print industry during the holiday season. Purely Digital, with its commitment to excellence, stands ready to accommodate your printing needs, helping you navigate the challenges of this busy period.

November – Despatch – go, go, go!

It’s time to bring your Christmas prints to life as the holiday season approaches. November marks the date for dispatching your corporate gifts and mailing your Christmas cards. Don’t hesitate to be among the first to spread the festive cheer— the earlier your cards are sent, the longer they serve as effective advertisements for your business.

Purely Digital understands the importance of timely deliveries. Suppose you find yourself in need of assistance with postage and distribution. In that case, their dedicated team is just an email or phone call away, ready to ensure that your holiday prints reach their intended recipients seamlessly.

Early preparation is key – Contact Purely Digital today

Early preparation is often the key to success in the business world. By embracing the concept of early Christmas printing planning, you’re showcasing your organisational prowess and setting the stage for a seamless and prosperous holiday season. 

With Purely Digital by your side, each process step is guided by expertise and commitment to excellence, ensuring that your holiday prints leave a lasting impression on clients, partners, and prospects alike. Don’t be caught off guard—start your Christmas print preparations now, and let Purely Digital turn your visions into a festive reality.

Printed Vinyl Flooring – Stand out from the competition at your next Exhibition or Trade Show!

Wednesday, May 11th, 2022

Custom printed vinyl flooring can bring your exhibition stand to life and help you stand out from your competitors in a busy exhibition environment! After all the admin and logistics are sorted, carefully considering the interior décor at your show is vital to ensure you make the most of your space. 

Most exhibitors spend a lot of time thinking about the backdrop, shelving, display areas and items they want to showcase but completely overlook the potential of the floor area! If this is not considered part of your design, you are wasting a golden opportunity to create a complete brand experience for your customers or visitors. 

Our printed vinyl flooring is printed to your exact specifications, so you can be as creative as you please. For example, perhaps your brand sells swimwear, and you’d like the floor to look like you were walking on a Caribbean beach? Or safety equipment, so you’d like the customers to feel like they were walking on scaffolding high above a building or on a rope bridge above a valley?

Where has printed vinyl flooring been used before? 

Delighted customer; Doyen Tea, recently commissioned our bespoke vinyl flooring for the London Food & Drink Expo. Their flooring made customers feel like they were standing on a tea plantation, and it worked brilliantly as a talking point. “Customers commented on the creative use we had made of the floor space on our stand. It was completely different from the other vendors and gave our booth a really immersive look and feel – we are thrilled and are looking forward to using it at all our exhibitions going forward.”

Creative use of the floor space can really leave an imprint on a visitor or customer, meaning you maximise the marketing space available to you and help you stand out from your competitors in a busy, cluttered trade show environment. 

events printed vinyl flooring

Hard-wearing and durable, the flooring also still looks great despite the volume of footfall, and as it can be easily rolled up and stored in between shows, it’s a cost-effective solution too!

And it isn’t just exhibition space that can benefit from this innovative design solution. Read on to discover how a custom-designed vinyl floor can help your business…

Printed vinyl flooring in a retail environment

Custom printed flooring… whatever your business!

As you can see from the pictures above, this bespoke printed flooring option allows you to turn a blank canvas into something extraordinary. More examples are on our printed flooring product page, but hopefully, you get the gist… we can print the flooring to your exact specifications; you are in complete control, and the only limit is your imagination!

So where else could you use it? Where else could you turn an otherwise blank space into a remarkable and engaging marketing tool?

Bespoke flooring for Retail environments 

Make every inch of your retail environment work for you by transforming the otherwise blank floor space into something eye-catching! For the shop floor or perhaps even your shop window, creative use of the floor space helps not only enhance the products you have on offer, but also the overall shopping experience for customers, contributing positively to their understanding of your business! This could also be utilised in shopping centres, cinemas or outdoor areas to grab attention or advertise your brand. 

Retail printed vinyl flooring by Purely Digital

Museum Exhibition and Gallery spaces for custom flooring

Personalised vinyl flooring for museum and gallery spaces can really help create the staging for your display. It can also be the perfect way to guide visitors in a particular direction around your exhibit or separate specific sections and zones…. A great alternative to using floor tape! Not only will it look spectacular, but this type of printing also helps to contribute to the overall experience of your customers or visitors. Don’t worry; a custom printed vinyl floor does not mean you are stuck with it for life. On the contrary, that is the beauty of it. These floors can be used for travelling or temporary exhibitions and can be easily rolled up and stored between uses. 

Set design for Events, Stages, Films & TV

Our flooring can also be used as part of a set design to help create the look of a particular scene or brand a staging setup… the options are limitless! The flooring is robust, anti-slip, flame retardant and can be rolled up and stored if you are sharing show space with other artists or productions. 

Directional flooring for Hospitals and Healthcare

Our flooring is anti-bacterial, flame retardant and anti-slip! Perfect for healthcare facilities which are often vast and complex buildings that are difficult to navigate for patients. Utilising our flooring to help mark out waiting areas or different zones can be an invaluable tool for those who perhaps would otherwise struggle to read signage. Graphics, logos, colours, images and text can all be used to help define areas, offer directions, or perhaps provide some welcome fun for children to play on whilst waiting for appointments. 

Promote your brand with printed vinyl flooring

Great marketing can really make your business grow in the 21st century. You want to create eye-grabbing promotional brand materials that help you stick in the mind of your customers. There’s no point in delivering an excellent product or service if no one knows about it!

Talk to Purely Digital about custom printed vinyl flooring

Have a vision of what you want your flooring to look like? Talk to us at Purely Digital, and we can talk you through the brief of what we need. If you need inspiration, head to the bespoke vinyl flooring page. However, if you just want more details, fill out the form on our contact page or call us on 01332 299553.

PURELY BUSINESS AS USUAL

Friday, June 19th, 2020

THINGS ARE CERTAINLY DIFFERENT RIGHT NOW, BUT IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR PURELY DIGITAL AND OUR CUSTOMERS.

Like many businesses out there, we’re adapting to this ‘new normal’ — rethinking and revising the way we do business and doing everything we can to keep our staff, partners and customers safe.

For the most part, it’s business as usual. We’re still taking face-to-face meetings with all our customers who request them, adhering to COVID safety regulations. At the same time, we also understand that not everybody can meet in person, which is why all customers can request virtual meetings with our team via Zoom, Skype or Microsoft Teams.

We are also able to provide COVID safety signage and display for businesses, NHS, schools and other areas where staff and visitor safety remains a top priority. These include COVID banner stands, COVID floor stickers and COVID wall posters, to name a few.

Get in touch to speak to our team about COVID safety signage. Or talk to us about arranging a virtual meeting to discuss your next print project!

Green machines — Team Purely takes part in this year’s Cycle to Work Day

Thursday, August 15th, 2019

THIS MONTH SAW PEOPLE ACROSS THE UK TAKE PART IN CYCLE TO WORK DAY. FIND OUT WHY THIS VERY SPECIAL EVENT HOLDS AN EVEN GREATER MEANING FOR EVERYBODY AT TEAM PURELY. 

Summer is officially in full swing (whenever it doesn’t suddenly decide to chuck-it down), and people all over the country are making the most of the glorious sunshine. So it’s quite a happy coincidence that National Cycle to Work Day took place last week — and perhaps even more fortuitous the good weather held out!

Widely regarded as the UK’s biggest cycling event, this very special day in the calendar sees people up and down the country leave their cars and bus passes at home in favour of a more environmentally friendly way of traveling to work. Around 760,000 people in the UK cycle to work on a regular basis — and while the figures for this year haven’t been released, we can confirm that quite a few members of Team Purely took part!

Karen, Jodie, Andy T, Paul and Managing Director, Andrew Edmondson, all made the commute to work on their bikes for this year’s Cycle to Work Day. Between them, the group covered an incredible 53 miles. That equates to roughly 21.4 kilograms of CO2 emissions had they each made the journey by car.

“The figures aren’t that revealing when you look at them in isolation,” says Andrew. “But after adding up the total number of miles everybody travels within a week, a month — a year even, then it’s quite shocking how much CO2 is emitted simply travelling to work.”

Those who know Andrew best will be aware he’s already an avid cyclist who just over a year ago, completed a 300km cycle from London to Paris in support of Derby Hospitals Charity. But that doesn’t mean he’s expecting everybody to ditch their Micra for Lycra.

“Cycling to work every day isn’t practical for a lot of people,” Andrew explains, “that’s just the reality of things. But that doesn’t mean compromises can’t be made.

“If we can all find ways around our busy schedules to cycle one or two days out of the week, or even walk instead of taking the car or catching the bus to work, then those are small differences being made on a massive scale.

“Making a conscious effort to adjust the way we think about these things, whether that’s how we travel to work or the amount of plastic we use on a daily basis, is a surefire way to affect positive change — both individually and within responsible businesses.”

Globally, about 15% of all man made CO2 comes from cars and public transport — of which the entire concentration has reached unprecedented levels. If we don’t act soon, experts surmise that the effects of CO2 concentration around the world will be irreversible. Of course, there will always be biased opinions in both camps, but regardless of the absolute truth, it’s impossible to deny the beauty and importance of our natural world and the duty we have to sustain it.

As a responsible print company, we’re conscious of the impact that our production processes and methods of operation can have on the environment. That’s why we’ve put measures in place to ensure our carbon footprint remains minimal. Since becoming a certified Carbon Capture Company in 2013, we’ve been actively planting new trees across the UK, helping to mitigate CO2 emissions while creating large areas of new native woodland integral to our wildlife.

We’ve also put tremendous efforts into adopting greener ethics in other areas of our business, from using specific types of paper and inks, to hand-delivering local jobs and group-delivering items as a way of reducing the amount of vehicular travel (sometimes a bike just won’t do it!).

To date, we’ve helped to create over 2,000㎡ of new native woodland and removed more than 75,000kg of Carbon Dioxide — and we’re continuing to increase those numbers on a daily basis.

You can find out more about our Purely Green initiative here

Purely brilliant awards

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019

LAST MONTH, PURELY DIGITAL HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO BE INVOLVED WITH THE DERBY MAINFRAME AWARDS. PRODUCING SOME VERY BEAUTIFUL PIECES AWARDED TO EVERYBODY SHORTLISTED AT THIS YEAR’S EVENT. 

February and March is awards season. That means the films you’ve never heard of clean up at the Oscars, and the music you hate wins big at Brits. At least that’s how we remember it.

But there’s one event this year that’s got everybody at Team Purely on tender hooks. The Mainframe Awards is a celebration of Derby’s creative and digital industries — and this year, we had the privilege of producing the awards handed out to everybody shortlisted for the finals.

Each award has been meticulously crafted using a 3D printer, and is sculptured out of an environmentally friendly material. We wanted to ensure they were as sustainable as they are beautiful.

“We were absolutely thrilled when Mainframe asked us to be involved,” explains Purely Digital’s MD, Andrew Edmondson.

“The Mainframe Awards is a triumphant recognition of Derby’s flourishing creative professional community. It makes us proud to be a able to demonstrate our support in this very special way.”

Thanks to our in-house 3D printing capabilities, we were able to produce the awards handed out to everybody shortlisted at last week’s event in a very quick turnaround. The REPLICATOR+ is a phenomenal piece of kit that many of our customers are discovering the unique benefits of — producing high-quality 3D printed designs and fixtures, formed out of a non-toxic, degradable PLA that yields extremely polished finished results.

“Because of the rising demand for 3D printing, we’ve invested in our production capabilities, “ continues Andrew. “Our newly installed Makerbot Replicator+ allows for precision 3D printing of the best quality — no warps or curling.

“We wanted to deliver something truly special for the Mainframe Awards, and we’re very happy with the results. It was a huge pleasure to attend the shortlisting ceremony, and seeing the nominees receive their awards was a spectacular moment.”

The finals for the Mainframe Awards 2019 takes place in April. Categories include businesses and individuals who have shown innovation in the creative and digital sectors, as well as those who have helped to make Derby a city that is widely recognised for its innovations and achievements. For more information and key dates, visit mainframederby.co.uk.

At Purely Digital, we can’t wait to see our designs on show!

A Purely Parisian adventure — Thank you to everybody who supported us

Friday, August 10th, 2018

Back from his three-day cycle trip to Paris, Purely’s Managing Director shares his thoughts on the whole experience, the people who made it possible, and tells us what he’s got planned next. 

It seems like the summer of 2018 will be forever associated with triumphs across The Channel. Not only did France manage to secure victory in this year’s World Cup, but Purely’s very own Andrew Edmondson also had something to celebrate whilst visiting the nation’s capital; successfully crossing the finish line to a three-day cycle challenge — smashing his fundraising target in the process.

“I’m still buzzing from the whole experience,” says Andrew. “I suppose this is how Didier Deschamps probably felt. Well, maybe just a little bit.”

Deschamps is, of course, the manager who led France’s national team to victory. And just like him, Andrew had his very own winning team in form of Koobr’s Craig Barker and Chris Bastock from We Are Ghost.

“We’re all Derby companies, so giving back to the community we work in has always been a really big deal for us. Of course, this particular cause was something very personal to me.”

You’ll probably remember how we sat down with Andrew in the weeks leading up to his challenge to cycle from London to Paris; discussing his motivations for doing so; and raising funds for Derby Hospitals Charity following their suburb care after his heart attack last year.

More than two months later, and not only did the boys manage to cover the distance, they also surpassed Andrew’s fundraising target in the process. A phenomenal achievement all around.

“Right off the bat, I’ve got to thank everybody who supported us: everybody who donated; everybody who sent kind messages of encouragement; and everybody who — in some form or another — dedicated their own time to help us accomplish what we set out to do.

“I also have to give special mention to professional round-the-world cyclist Leigh Timmis, for all his guidance and training in the months leading up to the event. We couldn’t have done this without your involvement.

“And finally, I’d like to say a massive Thank You to Phil; our support vehicle and photographer. In addition to patiently trucking around after all of us, he captured some wonderful moments on camera, so we could share the whole experience with everybody right here.”

London, Dieppe, Beauvais to Paris

Day One saw the boys depart from London to Newhaven, where the boat was waiting to ferry them all the way to France.

“Anybody who has tried to navigate their way through London traffic will already know it can be a bit of a nightmare,” says Andrew. “But when you’re racing to catch a Ferry first thing in the morning… well, even Boris Johnson would agree a bike isn’t the most practical solution!

Once we were out of the city, however, the rolling country roads definitely helped with getting us back on track. We even made the boat in time for a few drinks to toast the voyage.

Without anymore boats or trains to catch (don’t worry, they didn’t cycle all the way down to London, in case you were wondering) Day Two was an enjoyable 70 mile ride through the quaint villages and beautiful countryside through Dieppe to Beauvais.

“It was around this time we stopped in a little village called Forges-Let Eaux. Phil had been providing vehicle support the entire time, and he was probably feeling just as fatigued as the rest of us.

“But this brief pause gave us the chance to take in some refreshments, enjoy our surroundings, and even catch some of France’s first group match of the 2018 World Cup. What could be more perfect?”

“The final day saw us ride into Paris after 57 miles of smooth cycling, until we hit the city traffic. But we persevered and made it to the Arc de Triomphe, giving us our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Actually getting there, however, was a completely different story.

“It seemed to take a while until we reached our goal, weaving through the tourist and locals, but we eventually made it. That’s when it really hit me how far we’d all come.

“I can’t really put into words what this journey has meant to me. All I can say is how thankful I am to everybody who was part of it, and how much of an affirming experience this has been.

“More will follow, I’m sure. I’ve already got a few destinations in mind – and if we can continue to raise even more funds for good causes, well that makes it even more worthwhile.”

Purely Digital cycles to Paris in support of Derby Hospitals Charity

Thursday, May 17th, 2018

This June, Purely’s Managing Director will be cycling the 300km journey from London to Paris in support of Derby Hospitals Charity. Here Andrew Edmondson explains why this particular challenge is so important to him.

Open up your calendar and take a look at what’s happening in June, and you’ll find what is sure to be the biggest, most highly-anticipated sporting event in 2018. No, we’re not talking about the World Cup. We are, of course, referring to the 300km-long bike ride from London to Paris led by Purely Digital’s very own MD, Andrew Edmondson.

“It’s actually more like a marathon than a bike ride,” Andrew laughs, “but getting other people to come along is much easier when you say you’re going on a bike ride.”

Joined by friends across Derby’s business community, Andrew will be making the trip in support of Derby Hospitals Charity — raising much-needed funds for Derby Royal’s A&E Department

“In reality, I didn’t need to do any convincing. When I told people what I was planning, they were more than enthused to get involved. Especially when I explained my reasons for wanting to do it in the first place.”

Passionate about Derby Hospitals Charity

“As people who know me will already be aware, last year I had a heart attack. It was very out of he blue. However, I was assessed and underwent a procedure in a very short space of time.

“Thanks to the immediate actions of Derby Royal’s staff and medical team, the damage to my heart was greatly reduced and my overall recovery has been much quicker than it would have been otherwise.

“Everybody knows our hospitals are under tremendous pressure, and something Derby Royal isn’t budgeted for is a dedicated place where staff can visit and grab a little headspace from time to time.

“These people work in an extremely stressful, demanding environment, and it does affect them in ways most of us couldn’t possibly imagine.

“There are a few areas around the hospital where staff and the families of patients can go whenever they need it, but they’re in desperate need of restoration and I’d really like to be able to give them something more substantial and deserving.

“That’s why I got in touch with Kerry Brady at Derby Hospitals Charity, asking everybody to donate what they can, whilst hopefully demonstrating what can physically be accomplished when you receive the proper treatment and support.”

Of course, Andrew has always been a keen cyclist, and whether it was something he would be able to continue with was the first thing he asked his consultant cardiologist.

“In fact, he encouraged it,” says Andrew. “Now it’s something I incorporate even regularly than before, cycling to work instead of taking the regular commute — which is certainly quicker!

“I’ve dramatically tweaked my diet and, combined with the extra exercise, I feel fitter than ever. This entire experience has really changed my outlook..

Joining Andrew on his trip will be friends across the local business community, including Sean Price from Xuper, Chris Bastock from We Are Ghost, and Craig Barker from branding agency Koobr (main picture)

“Training is going really well. We all managed to finish last month’s Cycle Derby Sportive relatively quickly (pictured above). With a little more training before June, I’m confident we’ll make it to Paris in good time.”

Purely’s Tour de Paris

Setting off from St. Pancreas on June 15th, the group will make their way across the Channel and round-off their first day in Dieppe, France — cycling roughly 100km per day, before eventually arriving in Paris two days later.

Map-route

“It’s going to be a tough slog, for sure,” says Andrew, “but it will be equally rewarding on so many levels.

“I’ve been truly inspired by all the support I’ve received towards my recovery from numerous medical specialists, friends, and the rest of team at Purely Digital. Making this trip will be a testament to all these great things, and the perfect way to encapsulate what has otherwise been a significantly important journey.

“If we can raise some money to give something back to our hard-working hospitals and show them how much they mean to us — well, that will make it all the more worthwhile.”

Naturally, we’re all very excited here at Purely Headquarters and we wish Andrew and the rest of guys the very best of luck! We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has shown their support on social media, and for all donations already received via Andrew’s Just Giving page — which you can visit here

We’ve still got a ways to go until we reach our £2,000 target, but there’s still plenty of time for you get involved and help us get there. So please dig deep, share Andrew’s story, and make some noise on social media.

Thank you.

Purely Digital spreads the love

Wednesday, February 21st, 2018

This month’s Valentine’s Day celebrations gave Team Purely the perfect excuse to show our customers, friends, and local businesses just how much they mean to us — the best way we know how!

Last week saw one of the most hotly anticipated and widely-celebrated events in everybody’s calendar. The one we all look forward to every February.

We are, of course, talking about Pancake Day.

However, with no practical way of delivering hot, buttery, syrupy pancakes to all the people we love through the mail, we decided to do the next best thing and celebrate Valentine’s Day instead. It probably worked out a lot better in the long run. Not everybody would be as receptive to cold pancakes in the post as we would. But sweets, on the other hand?

If there’s one thing we love more than print…

Valentine’s Day gave us the perfect excuse to celebrate what we love most — sweets! Only joking. But if there’s one thing we do love more than print (or sweets), then it’s got to be our customers, friends, and local businesses.

So with that in mind, we decided to celebrate the lot and spread the love the best way we know how, showing everybody how much they truly mean to us with a special gift from Team Purely.

While florists up and down the country were busy arranging bouquets, and while posties were sorting through cards, chocolates, and other unmentionables, everybody at Purely Digital HQ was hard at work in preparation for the most love-filled day of the year.   We wanted to do something a little bit extra special while showing off our printing prowess. So we personally designed, planned and produced a selection of rather snazzy gift boxes (brimming with surprises) to show our customers and friends how special they are.

Read more about the importance of evoking emotions in your customers here

Did you know? In the UK, an average of 25 million cards are given on Valentine’s day… (WOW)

 

 

“It’s just a small gesture of how much we value our customers and appreciate our friends and local businesses,” says Purely Digital’s Managing Director, Andrew Edmondson. “It’s also a fantastic excuse to flex our own creative muscles and do something a little bit different that celebrates Valentine’s Day in a way that Purely Digital does best.

“Getting to sit down and chat with our clients is one of the things I enjoy the most. We may as well bring a box of goodies along while we’re visiting!”

And that’s exactly what we did! All last week, Team Purely was out in full force dropping off our special Valentine’s gift boxes by hand.

It might not have been the 25 million  Valentine’s cards sent every year, but there was still a lot of people to visit and we wanted to get to everyone in person. Needless to say, we had a great time, and we certainly felt a lot of love in return, but we definitely deserved a brew by the end of the day. Luckily, we knew exactly where to find some very special mugs for the occasion…

Planning something similar for your business? We are full of creative print ideas to enhance your printed promotional material. Get in touch and find out how we can help here