The Print Image Network team has once again set the standard for excellence by successfully passing our ISO 9001 recertification and achieving certification to the new ISO 27001:2022 standard—with zero non-conformities!
This dual certification marks a significant achievement for our team, underscoring our commitment to the highest levels of information security and quality management. With these certifications, Print Image Network further strengthens its dedication to safeguarding client data and delivering consistently exceptional service in every project.
Achieving ISO 9001 confirms our focus on quality management, ensuring that our processes are efficient, reliable, and centred around the needs of our clients. Additionally, our certification to the updated ISO 27001:2022 standard demonstrates our proactive approach to protecting information security in an evolving digital landscape, providing peace of mind to our clients that their data is always in trusted hands.
Thank you to everyone involved in making this possible! Your hard work and commitment are what make Print Image Network a leader in quality and security.
For more information about our growing electoral administration print and mail service, please contact us, call on 0161 209 4800 or email sales@printimagenetwork.com.
Friday marked the end of an era for Print Image Network Ltd and UK Engage as this was the last working day of Steve Power one of our Co-founders, as he begins his well-deserved retirement after 24 years with the business.
John Foster and Steve formed Print Image Network Limited on 6th June 2000 although they (and Pauline) had worked together at a previous Company for the 10 years prior.
The trio have achieved so much over the last 24 years, from humble beginnings, to the twenty plus team you speak with regularly today.
John provides some insight on the Print Image Network Ltd backstory and how the business has evolved over the years:
"For our first office, we hired a small room in an old Mill in Reddish.
The Mill served its purpose and we gradually expanded; renting more rooms and knocking through as time went by before we bought Image House in Stockport.
We always wanted to get into the more technical side of printing and mailing and developed a few niches over the years and now ….. Time marches on and here we are, one of the leading providers of Electoral Services in the Country.
We have noticed that over the years business methodology has changed considerably. In the beginning we rang people up asked them for an order, placed an order, delivered, and invoiced. Not now … there are so many more compliance and administration duties a business must undertake.
But during all these transitions we have worked together well, taking on different responsibilities as times change.
Different people but we’ve always had the customer and everybody we work with in mind 100% of the time. This common goal of excellence has been key to success. Doing things “right” in my experience, does indeed work well for all concerned. All through these later years this constant desire to be the best has been taken on by everybody who works here; and this support is 100% crucial to everything the Company has achieved.
At the beginning of our Electoral work business, we designed a new style of postal vote pack which won a National award for "Innovation and Creativity".
On the back of this award, we marketed the product and won one initial customer and then more and more. Until after a few years I can still remember the time when we managed to arrange a meeting at one of the largest Councils in the Country. The meeting went well and we won their work … it was then quite a challenge to deliver the requirements.
We are proud to be members of several affiliated organisations not least the AEA and regularly attend their meetings and conferences.
We are regularly consulted by the relevant Government Departments and are proud of our efforts to help deliver democracy.
Whilst being one of the largest providers of printed electoral material we are concurrently one of the leading organisations supplying digital voting methods.
Linked in with this aspect is our work in running AGM processes for clients and helping all sorts of disparate organisations to help deliver their own electoral needs.
As Steve looks forward to enjoying a relaxing G&T on various beaches, he leaves one final message for the team:
"60% of my working life has been spent in this business and I have enjoyed every second of it. 85% of my working life has been alongside my two most valuable colleagues, Pauline and John without whose input and support, Print Image Network would not be what it is today. The greatest percentage of our staff are long serving, and all employees possess that special something that ensures Print Image Network will go on to even bigger and better things in the future. I have enjoyed every minute working alongside all my colleagues, I will miss you but have every faith that you will continue to succeed as individuals and as a team."
Following an MBA at London Business School and the University of Texas at Austin, Dominic spent a long corporate career in marketing, business development and senior management roles. As Head of Marketing, he was part of the team that launched the BBC onto the internet with the development of bbc.co.uk in 1997. He was Strategic Marketing Director of the data and information business Lexis Nexis before moving into private equity in 2005 as the MD of Hawksmere, a legal and financial training company.
Dominic has acted as Chairman at over a dozen private equity backed and family businesses including Morgan Sports Cars. He currently Chairs businesses backed by YFM and 24 Haymarket alongside his role at PIN.
Dominic says. “I am delighted to join PIN at a pivotal time for the business where we plan for the transition and ultimate retirement of Steve and John. I do hope we can keep them involved and I’m sure they will remain close at hand. My role is to Chair the Board of Directors and to help put in place the leadership team and strategy to take the business forward. Our focus will be on growth and I am sure that will create exciting new opportunities within the business.
PIN’s election work is close to my heart. Growing up in Nottingham my father was elected to the City Council and sat as a councillor for 20 years eventually becoming Deputy Leader and Lord Mayor. Politics and elections were front and centre in our house and I delivered campaign leaflets from the age of 12, starting with the 1974 general elections (there were two elections that year and I was bitten by a dog while out campaigning!).
I have been extremely impressed with everyone that I have met at PIN and UKE so far and am always happy to stop for a chat and to learn more about the business.”
The Print Image Network and UK Engage teams would like to extend an official warm welcome to Dominic and wish him best of luck in his role.
UK Engage offer fully managed election and AGM services. We are an experienced election services provider, with a dedicated team of election professionals delivering elections and AGMs (AMMs) daily. Both postal and online services can be provided as part of our ISO9001 and ISO27001 certifications. Contact us on 0161 209 4808 to discuss your needs.
“As the saying goes, timing is everything…
Closing in on the second month of my tenure as Finance Director for Print Image Network and UK Engage, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the team here in full action throughout April as they delivered for the Local Council, Mayoral & PCC elections.
No sooner had the votes been counted, and No. 10 make their big announcement for 4th July. Once again, the team is firing on all cylinders.
Despite the short runway to the General Election date, everyone is positive and pro-active. It’s the thing that has impressed me the most about Print Image Network and UK Engage thus far: the passion of the brilliant team here, and their commitment to overcome any challenges to deliver excellence for their customers.
I am thrilled to have joined the Print Image Network and UK Engage team, and fully excited by the outlook of the business. In particular, as the needs for government, membership organisations and businesses to adapt alongside the enhancement of technology to better engage their members, the opportunity for us to be at the forefront to help drive democracy.”
This means that we check and enhance our security against cyber-attacks to protect our company assets, IP and customer data, against common cyber threats.
As a leading UK electoral printing specialist and trusted supplier to over 70 local authorities across the UK, information security processes have been common practice; we have held Cyber Essentials accreditation since 2017, which is assessed annually. We are delighted to report that we recently passed our assessment in April 2024!
What is Cyber Essentials Accreditation?
Cyber Essentials is a government-backed cyber security certification scheme that sets out a good baseline of cyber security suitable for all organisations spanning all sectors. The scheme addresses five key controls that, when implemented correctly, can prevent around 80% of cyber-attacks.
Print Image Network implemented these five Cyber Essentials Controls to help stay secure:
Why Cyber Essentials and what does this renewal of our accreditation mean for our customers?
Enhanced Security: working with local authorities to print election stationery including postal votes, ballot papers and poll cards, we handle a lot of confidential and sensitive information.
Data Protection: this data is at the heart of everything we do, and we need to protect this against cyber-attacks.
Continuous Improvement: we demonstrate our commitment to staying abreast of the latest threats and implementing best practices to safeguard our customer data.
Trust and Confidence: we are instilling greater confidence with regards to the security and reliability of our services.
For more information about our growing electoral administration print and mail service, please contact us, call on 0161 209 4800 or email sales@printimagenetwork.com.
To find out further information about our certification please click on the smart logo below.
We are thrilled to announce that Print Image Network has been shortlisted for the prestigious PrintWeek Award in the category of Innovation of the Year. This recognition highlights our commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation and delivering cutting-edge solutions to our clients.
As a leading UK electoral print provider, we aim to remain at the forefront of innovation, this was particularly exercised in response to legislative changes introduced by the Elections Act 2022. With photo identification becoming compulsory for in-person voting in Great Britain, the traditional A5 Poll Card design was no longer sufficient. Print Image Network therefore developed the 'Flexi Poll Card,' a reel-fed white paper one-piece mailer that maintains the appearance of a traditional A5 card. Through a meticulous R&D process, the company ensured compliance with legislation, engaged voters, and saved costs.
Consulting with industry experts, obtaining approval from the Electoral Commission and Royal Mail, Print Image Network successfully produced over 2 million 'Flexi Poll Cards' for 35% of our customers during the 2023 combined elections, achieving a 100% delivery rate and aiding in the transition to the new electoral administration.
Being shortlisted for the PrintWeek Award for Innovation of the Year is not just a recognition of our achievements; it's a glimpse into the future of Print Image Network. Print Image Network is committed to continuing our pursuit of customer service excellence, pushing the boundaries of innovation, and shaping the future of the electoral print industry.
Sustainability in Print:
In addition to technological advancements, we are proud to express our commitment to sustainability. We understand the environmental impact of the print industry and have implemented eco-friendly practices in our operations and suppliers in delivering exceptional print solutions.
For more information about our growing electoral administration print and mail service, please contact us, call on 0161 209 4800 or email sales@printimagenetwork.com.
Print Image Network have held the Cabinet Office Customer Service Excellence Standard since 2012, and continually strive for and maintain the best customer service through continuous development, especially in the field of constantly changing election legislation. Impartial accreditation of our services is vital to helping us hone our products and services to their optimum. So, we are delighted to report that our headline, overall Customer Satisfaction score that will be reported to CSE is 98%.
The Print Image Network Customer Service Excellence survey is issued annually and this year, represents data collated from 24 local authorities. The survey covers key aspects of the products, services, and dedicated support that we provided to our customers for the May 2022 elections.
Results:
The results of the survey included:
What our customers had to say:
Our customers were given the opportunity to provide their honest opinion about our ballot solutions in several open-ended questions. Here’s a small selection of what they had to say:
“Very responsive and very pro-active compared to others. It was helpful to be able to proof ballot papers in advance of the close of nominations – something others haven't wanted us to do. Awareness of the pressures we are under and more flexible than other suppliers I've worked with.”
“Delivered when promised. Excellent lines of communication. Excellent support.”
Reliability, attention to detail - I feel safe awarding any election print requirement to Print Image Network - knowing that the work is in good hands and will be delivered to a high standard.”
To establish how our products and services compare to other providers in the electoral printing sector, we include a benchmark score. This showed that 93% of our customers rated us as better or much better than other service providers they had used. This creditable score is further supported by the statistic that 100% of all respondents would recommend Print Image Network to a colleague or other organisation.
“Customer service is something which is embedded in our company culture and values. We pride ourselves on the level of customer support we achieve, however, it is only through the valuable feedback from our customers that we can continually assess and refine our services to ensure we meet expectations. Being impartially and independently assessed every year for the Customer Service Excellence Standard provides a foundation for continuous development across our entire business and strengthens the relationships we have with our clients..
With an overall, above target customer satisfaction score of 98%, we are extremely proud of our achievements. We are of course immensely grateful to our fantastic team for delivering such high standards and to our clients who took time to provide their feedback.” Stephen Power – Print Image Network, Client Services Director.
You can view the Print Image Network customer satisfaction report and results in more detail here.
For more information about our growing electoral administration print and mail service, please contact on 0161 209 4800 or email sales@printimagenetwork.com.
Print Image Network/UK Engage hosted another successful Macmillan Coffee Morning Wednesday 28th September 2022. The first one that we have held since 2019, which was pre-pandemic. And we’ve certainly made up for it!
There was lots of choice, ranging from sweet bakes to savoury pastries with Simon’s 3 Saveurs de Rouleau de Saucisse. Thank you to the team for all their creative efforts in the bake off; choosing a winning recipe was tough as they were all delicious, but thankfully the voting process was extremely simple using UK Engage’s secure online voting platform. The team cast their anonymous votes digitally, ranking all 15 entries in order of preference, this meant that the competition was fair and transparent. The winning entries were:
We are delighted to announce that we raised £231.30 for Macmillan Cancer support, which is fantastic and we also welcomed a number of visitors from companies around Acorn business park.
Well done to all involved and for helping to raise money for a wonderful cause that affects everybody in some way throughout their lives.
The passing of Her Majesty The Queen has left everybody at Print Image Network deeply saddened and we offer our warm wishes and greatest sympathies to King Charles III and the Royal Family.
We would also like to extend our support to all of our customers, colleagues and our team.
As the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Head of the Commonwealth, Patron of more than 600 charities as well as a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, The Queen was a remarkable role model.
Her Majesty’s inciteful leadership, good humour, tireless work and unwavering public service helped smooth a way through the enormous social changes of the last 70years. We will be eternally thankful.
John Foster
We now have the results of our three-year Customer Service Excellence (CSE) re-assessment!
We have achieved full compliance with 28% compliance plus and remain the only electoral services specialist to hold the Customer Service Excellence Standard.
Customer Service Excellence is a government-backed industry standard that assesses whether services are efficient, effective, excellent, equitable and empowering, using 57 different criteria. It ensures organisations always put their customers at the heart of their operations. The accreditation lasts for three years, with holders subject to annual reassessment.
Following an in-depth examination of the five criteria set out by the standard – customer insight, culture, information and access, delivery and timeliness and quality of service, we are celebrating our best start to a re-assessment since we first gained the CSE standard back in 2012.
Due to the pandemic, the assessment was carried out virtually by seasoned CSE assessor, Michael Lynch, who was extremely complimentary of the evidence put forward to support the submission.
Building on many successful initiatives, including the continued development of our core values, 2020 was one of our most successful years in terms of people and service improvements. Achievements included the Investors in People and Gold accreditation and 100% satisfaction in our customer survey.
Stephen Power, Services Director at the electoral services specialist said: “We are thrilled to once again achieve full compliance with 28% compliance plus. Although 2020 was a challenging year for all businesses, we were determined to make sure our customers received the same high standard of service and were not impacted by the effects of the pandemic.”
“Customer service is at the heart of everything we do and the commitment from our team has been outstanding. This year, we achieved 100% customer satisfaction from our customer survey, which is a testament to the effort given to ensuring customers received the very best service, despite challenging times.”
Managing Director, John Foster added. “Being part of the Customer Service Excellence programme means that we can measure the success of our customer service. It has been extremely encouraging to get full compliance, especially as 28% of the overall compliance score was for areas where we excelled in our business as an electoral services specialist and exceeded the necessary compliance threshold. Furthermore, the customer comments from our recent survey and those submitted to our assessor, as part of our virtual re-assessment, confirms we are making our customers happy with our service.”
We achieved compliance plus for our customer service across all five of the CSE framework – customer insight, culture, information and access, delivery and timeliness and quality of service. Highlights include how Print Image Network: –
“Despite all the challenges, there is no doubt that customer service remains at the centre of everything that Print Image Network Ltd does. The team provided comprehensive evidence of how it proactively responds to customers.”
Michael Lynch, CSE Assessor
Print Image Network is a leading electoral services specialist. For more information about us and our customer service policy, please contact the team on 0161 209 4800 or email sales@printimagenetwork.com
