Reflecting on 2022 at Visual Print and Design

‘A year in review by our Managing Director, Graham Hunstone’

It feels strange to be writing this review for 2022 as I’m sure it was only January a few weeks ago! I think everyone can agree that this year has gone by far too quickly even though it has certainly been eventful.

The year began slowly as the UK remained concerned about the risks of covid. However, as events continued to run and confidence grew for businesses and among the general public, so did we.

Of course, there were some hiccups along the way as, like many businesses and those in the print industry, we were hit by rising costs and supply chain issues. And I suspect with the strikes causing disruption to couriers, this will continue in 2023.

That being said 2022 has been a year of growth, achievements and milestones at Visual Print and Design. There has been a lot to celebrate and I’m so proud of everyone within our growing team. I know that we wouldn’t be ending the year on such a high if it wasn’t for them.

Here are just a few of our achievements over the last 12 months:

• We became an approved print and design supplier for eight different local authorities from across the UK
• We supported The Lincolnite by sponsoring their awards throughout the year
• We were admitted into membership of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council®) Chain of Custody Group Scheme (FSC-C004309) 
• We sponsored the Greater Lincolnshire Construction & Property Awards by printing their programme
• We employed two new apprentices with the support of Lincoln College
• We sponsored the Newark Business Awards by providing goodie bags and merchandise
• We joined the IPIA (Independent Print Industries Association)
• We raised over £800 for Shine Lincolnshire, Comic Relief, YMCA Lincolnshire and Macmillan Cancer Support
• We planted trees to offset 7.1 tonnes of CO2 and installed an electric car charging station at our Lincoln office
• We became another white-label supplier for a European trade printer
• We supported our wonderful customer with over 2100 print and design projects
• We continued making silly videos on TikTok with one of the latest videos getting 860,000 views
• We were a finalist for ‘SME Business of the Year’ award at the Lincolnshire Live Business Awards
• We were a finalist for ‘Closing the skills gap’ award at the Digital Printer Awards
• We welcomed over 40 local businesses and associates to our office for our first open evening in 3 years
• We were a finalist for the ‘Growth/Scale Up Business of the Year’ award at the Lincolnshire Enterprise Awards
• We celebrated many birthdays and work-iversaries
• We introduced over 200 promotional, print and exhibition products to our website including eco-friendly alternatives
• Our Head of Marketing and Business Development, Rachael Hunt, was recognised as one of Lincolnshire’s 30 under 30
• We saw new customer acquisition increase by 16%
• We were a finalist for ‘Print Management of the Year’ at the IPIA awards and Rachael received a ‘Certificate of Commendation’ for the ‘Young Leaders Award’
• We joined the ‘Design Declares’ movement
• We filmed our annual Christmas video for you all to enjoy
• We became a commercial member of the Two Sides Campaign as part of our mission to promote the sustainability of print and paper
• We welcomed Rachael Beach to the team as our new Customer Service Executive

Okay, we might have done a bit too much over the last year but being about to write down all the amazing things we’ve achieved does put everything in perspective. I know this wouldn’t have been possible without our wonderful, loyal customers and having such a great team behind me so thank you all for everything.

Even with the UK dealing with another recession I’m excited to see what 2023 has in store for us. I started Visual Print and Design in the middle of the last recession so I’m ready for another challenge!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year.