Our Story
Leading magazine printer, Pensord Press, has come a long way since being founded in 1969 by the Billboard Company of America to produce the UK’s leading music title, Record Retailer.
In 2010 Pensord was purchased by then commercial director, Darren Coxon, and operations director, Karl Gater. Since then Pensord’s timeline is littered with significant investments and people development leading to profitable growth and industry recognition for the job we do and are very proud of.
Over that time we’ve completely overhauled our pre-press area and our entire fleet of presses, which now boasts two 8 colour B1 sheet-fed perfecting Heidelberg presses and a 10 colour B1 sheet-fed perfecting KBA press. Our bindery also consists of an impressive line up of machinery enabling high-speed folding, saddle stitching, perfect binding, PUR binding, Thread-sewn binding and case binding all on the one site.
In 2015 Pensord Digital was set up to provide very short-run digital printing, based in Bridgend, and consisting of 4 digital print engines, an impressive array of folding options and of course booklet making and perfect and PUR binding.
Our focus on people is, we think, unique in the printing industry. In 2008 we received the Investors in People accreditation which was successfully renewed 4 further times, until it’s expiry during the covid year of 2021. Training and development, and creating an environment where everyone can give of their best, remain at the heart of what we do. You’ll find a can-do attitude here at Pensord where our people really do make the difference!
We Never Stand Still.
Colour Magazine Printing At Its Best.
Since 2011 we have invested over £20 million installing ever more efficient and productive technology and processes resulting in colour magazine printing of the highest quality. We have amassed an impressive array of plant and machinery including Fuji pre-press workflow, 3 x B1 perfecting printing presses, 4 x digital print engines, a vast array of finishing equipment, mailing facilities and a 24/6 handwork taskforce.
As part of our commitment to emerging new technologies we have partnered with the pioneering Apazine to offer our customers a platform for quick and easy online creation of their publications as ‘Apps’. This cost effective solution was developed to provide independent publishers a professional, slick application which was low on resource and low on cost.
In 2022 we are developing our digital publishing offering to include FreeFlow the revolutionary automated software that takes the printed content to stacked article content which is perfect for mobile delivery.
THE INDUSTRY CHANGES CONSTANTLY - SO DO WE
We live in challenging times. Everyone wants everything now and few accept compromise. That’s why we constantly reinvest so we provide our clients with everything they need to achieve their goals and satisfy the needs of their advertisers and readers. We also recognise that tomorrow may not always look like today and so we are always looking to stay one step ahead.
We acknowledge it’s been a while, but history shows that Pensord is a multi-award winning print company specialising in the production of magazines, brochures and catalogues. Our state of the art plant based in South Wales is home to over 300 regularly produced magazine titles on behalf of over 100 regular clients. We pride ourselves on our service to clients and in 2016 we received the PrintWeek award for Customer Service Team of the Year (our only time ever entering the award!)
With over £25m of investment in our plant and people in recent years and an unrivalled reputation for service, quality and value for money, Pensord has evolved into the ideal partner for many of the leading independent publishing companies and is one of the UK’s leading digital printing companies.
Combining investment, with a focus on efficiency and performance, and always keeping our clients at the forefront of everything we do lead to us being awarded the BPIF’s printing company of the year at the end of 2012/13. (This was the last year this award was presented so in theory we are still the holders!)
Multi-Award Winning Print Company
Strategic Partnerships
Print is a tough sector and to thrive you need to think outside of the box and get closer to your clients market place so you understand what’s important and what’s relevant. We also believe it’s important to understand the dynamics in your own industry and therefore you need to work smartly to stay up to date and well informed.
Our long-standing strategic partnership with the PPA’s Independent Publishers Network is now into it’s 16th year. This provides us with a unique opportunity to engage with today’s modern independent publishers and to understand their needs and strategies. This helps us to stay relevant and to customise our services to better serve our clients today, tomorrow and well into the future.
We also have a fairly unique position with the British Printing Industry Federation (BPIF). Our Platinum Membership provides us with the support we need to help us deal with all of the modern challenges of business and our MD, Darren Coxon, was elected President of the BPIF in 2017, serving two terms before standing down in 2021. This close relationship provides a wonderful conduit for insight into the trends facing our industry.
Membership & Accreditations
