Prontaprint Franchise Is Printer Of Year

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team Nov 7, 2007

The Print Business of the Year award at the annual British Association for Print and Communication (BAPC) awards has been won by Prontaprint Chorley.

The Chorley Prontaprint franchise was opened by Geoff Bailey 24 years ago, along with his eldest daughter Julia and the centre's success led Bailey to open a second Prontaprint in Southport six years later.

In 2000, second daughter Claire Bailey joined the family operation, taking on the responsibility for the day to day running of the Chorley centre.

Earlier this year, sisters Julia and Claire Bailey jointly opened a third Prontaprint centre in Bolton.

Laird Mackay, Prontaprint's managing director, said: "I am delighted that Julia and Claire and their teams have been awarded this extremely impressive accolade and it is certainly well deserved.

It is the first Prontaprint centre to win this award and it has set a high benchmark for the rest of the network." And he added: "This award is especially impressive because it is based on nominations from fellow print businesses.

It goes to show that in providing excellent customer service, you can also earn the respect of your industry peers.

This award recognises the teams' continued outstanding performance at their centres in Chorley, Southport and Bolton." Claire Bailey, who is a director of Prontaprint Chorley, commented: "The Chorley centre has been a family business since it opened in 1983 and part of our ethos has been to provide nothing but the best for our customers.

To be recognised by our fellow print suppliers is certainly a terrific achievement for the team and one of which we are extremely proud." She continued: "Since opening Chorley we've expanded with centres in Southport and more recently Bolton.

The Prontaprint model is one that's already been very successful for us and with this award under our belt I'm sure even more success will come." In winning the award, Claire and Julia have also become the first women to be recognised since its inception in 1989.