I am delighted to welcome you to the first issue of ‘Expression’, a periodic
newsletter that will give you a snapshot of the latest news and events and what’s
happening at Butler Tanner & Dennis.

Since the start of the new business, some significant changes have already taken place with communication being the key driver behind many of them. How, when and why we interact with our customers, suppliers and staff is a key part of building a successful business. We remain focused on our key markets and delivering a strategy that ensures we continue to provide for their needs now and into the future. With the challenge of ever changing products and service requirements, we look forward to taking on this opportunity with enthusiasm and determination.

Circumstances have allowed us to restructure and this has been critical to the potential success of the new company. Whether it is our new approach to our clients needs through new team leaders that act as the guardians of our product, quality and performance, or the integrated administration with prepress and the other departments, these factors have contributed to our commitment to service and the integrity of our product.

The financial strength of BT&D has dramatically changed with our new owner,
whose commitment has enabled us to face these turbulent financial times with a
degree of confidence. In addition, we now have an experienced and knowledgeable
Board of Directors, to ensure we make the correct operational and strategic
decisions for the longer term success of the business

All of the team in Frome have achieved so much in such a short period of time.
The operational changes and the productivity achieved in the factory are all due
to the dedication and determination shown by every member of staff during this
exciting period in our history. The working atmosphere has been fantastic to be
part of and this new found ambition and culture is one we all remain

I would like to conclude this welcome with a big, ‘Thank You’, not just to our
owner, but to everyone; customers, suppliers and of course, our super employees,
all of whom have contributed to this challenge to create an enjoyable and
profitable business for the long term, with quality products and service at it’s
heart.

Kevin Sarney
December 2008

Kevin Sarney & Felix Dennis

Felix Dennis visits Frome!
“BT&D is a first class company run by enthusiastic professionals – I’m delighted that my investment might help to restore some faith in the UK’s book printing industry.”

Project

Honda, Intermot, V4 & Milano Brochures

Client

Honda

Project

Gordon Ramsay – Cooking For Friends

Client

Harper Collins

Project

Bear Grylls – Great Outdoor Adventures

Client

BBC Books

Project

Oceans

Client

BBC Books

157 years in the making

With a 157 year heritage, Somerset based, Butler Tanner & Dennis is one of the premier colour book and publications printers in the UK. Our management team is constantly re-appraising the BT&D brand proposition to safeguard its effectiveness in todays ever changing markets and to ensure that our company remains sustainable for appropriate future growth.

Corporate integrity and adherence to ethical business practices, combined with a clearly defined focus on the quality of our products and service to our customers, is the foundation on which BT&D is built.

We constantly strive to attain the highest standards in business practice through diligence, fairness and respect and take every measure possible to reduce negative impacts on the environment resulting from our production processes. We minimise waste and use sustainable resources whenever possible.

What is unique about BT&D’s printing service?
Charlie Fenby – Business Development Director

The word unique is often overused, but at BT&D, we believe that we do offer something that fits into this category. So why is this?

Because we bring many years of unequalled book manufacturing knowledge and expertise to commercial
and corporate markets. Our 7B, large sheet size presses, enable us to offer a much wider and cost efficient range of format sizes. This is particularly relevant to designers who are very often looking for something different to enhance their creative process.At BT&D, time on press, checking and passing to print has been cut to an astonishingly low level, especially where numerous plate changes are required for larger pagination publications.

Our expertise and project management, all under one roof in Frome, extends to hi-end repro, complex finishing techniques, advice on materials and a comprehensive print management service. Hardback finishing – again, in-house, complements the perceived value of the brochures and catalogues we produce for clients such as Rolls Royce and Aston Martin.

The key message to potential customers is that our press capacity coupled with our comprehensive inhouse
facilities can seriously cut lead times, particularly on large scale projects. And that is without considering the environmental benefits that come from one site production.

Help for former employees

We have recently donated £150,000 to the Printers’ Charitable Corporation (PCC) in order to create a
designated ‘Butler Tanner & Dennis Fund’ to help alleviate hardship that may have been caused by the closure of Butler & Tanner earlier this year. The Printers’ Charitable Corporation (PCC) will operate the new fund, providing individual grants of up to £2,000, with priority given to former employees, or their dependents.

The hope is that as the new business grows, Butler Tanner & Dennis will be able to re-employ even more former members of staff than they have already.

BT&D Managing Director, Kevin Sarney, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of the Butler Tanner & Dennis Fund, and hope that it will provide genuine aid to former employees of the company and to the local community. We are 100% committed to protecting and building on the 157 year heritage of this unique colour printing business.”

Stephen Gilbert, Chief Executive of the Printers’ Charitable Corporation (PCC) said: “We are extremely grateful for this generous gesture by Butler Tanner & Dennis, which we believe will make a real contribution to relieving hardship amongst those affected by the earlier closure of Butler & Tanner.”

Fresh off the press

Impact Design & Marketing of Taunton, renowned for an impressive national and international client base, was commissioned by Honda Motor Europe – Motorcycles to create and produce a number of communications materials.

One of the key projects was the creation of coffee-table style book to announce Honda’s strength and commitment to the V4 engine configuration and to celebrate Honda’s important V4 heritage and success. ‘A Celebration of Honda V4’ was launched to the press and broadcast media and the key European motorcycle show – Intermot in Cologne, at the world premiere unveiling of Honda’s stunning V4 concept model. It consisted of three publications, two with specific press information relevant to each of the European shows
and the third covering the thirty years of the revolutionary V4 engine.

The brief was to provide a premium look print solution which would reflect Honda’s premium brand and its No. 1 market leader position in two wheels, whilst allowing the publications to be distributed either as individual books or as a packaged set.

The business development team at Butler Tanner & Dennis worked extremely closely with Impact’s creative team to develop something appropriate, yet different, that wouldn’t break the budget and could be manufactured to very fine production tolerances and within a very short timescale.

The design required accurate alignment of spreads and rules as folding and collation would be critical to the success of the project. The Impact designers were keen to utilise a square format and the finished size of 260mm square was agreed to provide maximum cost efficiency of printing. 48 pages were printed in a single pass on BT&D’s large format presses – each sheet was then folded into four 12-page sections using
parallel folds to provide perfect accuracy. To add texture and contrast, the introductory pages of each publication were printed on uncoated stock and the photographic section on high gloss art.

A total of 212 pages were printed on just five sheets of paper, which enabled production to be completed in under a week and achieving the unbreakable deadline.

The hard-back covers were made up of Curious Skin black cloth with lettering picked out in silver and red. The end papers and CD holder were produced on Colorplan red with lettering blocked in white foil. Finally, the same material was used, again with white blocking, to create a slipcase to house the complete set.

Another example of BT&D’s award winning ability to work closely with the designers and to creatively apply the necessary print production expertise, adding value and quality to the finished product without breaking the guideline budget.

Impact’s creative director, Richard Oliver said: “This is a prestige project for Impact and an important project for all involved, demanded the highest levels of collaboration between client, agency and printer, particularly with such an important Honda communications initiative having to be created in such a short lead-time. From the initial briefing through to the preparation and planning, and finally the print
production and finishing, Butler Tanner and Dennis brought the commitment, expertise and passion to ensure not only delivery of the project but also an extremely high quality of product in terms of print and finishing.”

Other recently completed printing projects include:
Our Iceberg is Melting [R/P] – Pan Macmillan – first
job off the presses for the new company.
Oceans – Ebury Press – to accompany the forthcoming series on BBC TV.
If Paintings Could Talk – art book for the National Gallery. Homeless in my Heart – our Chairman, Felix Dennis’ latest book of poetry.
Russell Brand – Harper Collins – a major book to be
published for the Christmas market.
Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club – 50th Anniversary history – over 850 pages in full colour and bound in real cloth.
Gordon Ramsay – Harper Collins – his latest cookery book
originally printed in Italy but reprinted by BT&D.
RNLI – calendars designed by Marketing Matters.
White Company – hard back brochure featuring a range of bedroom furnishings.

New paperback binding line

Butler Tanner & Dennis has invested around £750,000 on a Kolbus KM 600 binding line which also includes a ZU 832 gatherer and a HD 153P three-knife trimmer. This machine is capable of finishing PUR, limp thread sewn and perfect bound publications and BT&D is the first UK business to install the model.

The KM 600 runs at around 7,000cph, and BT&D managing director Kevin Sarney said, “Quality of binding is of paramount importance to us and we needed to have a quality paperback book bindine line. This machine brings a whole new dimension to the company; we want to be the premier book manufacturer in the UK. Our ability to react is crucial and the fast make ready times on this machine
means that short, fast turnaround jobs can be handled easily.”

Sarney also said: “We have a number of new investments in mind, but they will be revealed as and when we
agree on them.”

Environmental update

BT&D’s potential impact on the environment is a subject of constant and on-going discussion at all levels within our company and it is part of our business culture to be sure that we are environmentally responsible and to set ourselves standards and goals for future sustainability and compliance.

Our aim is nothing less than Carbon Neutrality and it is something that we sincerely hope to achieve within one year of the date of this newsletter. This being said, we are FSC and PEFC accredited with ISO14001 not far away. And that’s not all. We already have the environmental benefit of having all our operations under one roof in Frome. Our workforce are all local people and many of them travel to the factory on pushbikes, with more being encouraged and incentivised to do so.

This environmental update will be a regular feature in our newsletter and we intend to show considerable and rapid progress in attaining environmental excellence and further accreditations. Our environmental policy will be published on our new website which is due to be launched before Christmas, but in the meantime, if you would like further information please contact Kevin Sarney on:
ksarney@butlertanneranddennis.com.

Butler Tanner & Dennis

Caxton Road Frome
Somerset BA11 1NF
Telephone: +44 (0)1373 451500

9 - 11 Kingly Street
London W1B 5PN
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7434 0698

www.butlertanneranddennis.com

We would be pleased to hear your comments on any aspect of the expression newsletter and its content, as striving for continual improvement is a key philosophy at all levels throughout our organisation.

Please contact
sbullus@butlertanneranddennis.com