the holywell blog

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

using flyer power to drum up business

05-08-2022

The Edinburgh Fringe kicks off this week and, with it, the distribution of millions of promotional flyers. But why are printed leaflets such a reliable and versatile marketing tool for the performers and venues involved?

why paper packaging is the natural choice

Oli Burrows

Customer Services

why paper packaging is the natural choice

25-07-2022

Packaging says a lot about a brand, and the organisation behind it. Often overlooked, printed paper packaging can provide a way to minimise your organisation’s carbon footprint and create instant appeal with environmentally conscious consumers.

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

tell your printed communications' sustainability story

24-05-2022

The Love Paper® campaign is enabling organisations around the world to say something powerful and positive about their paper-based communications. It carries clear and defensible messages of print sustainability for the brands that use it.

carbon capture and our journey to net-zero

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

carbon capture and our journey to net-zero

10-05-2022

As members of the Woodland Trust’s Carbon Capture® scheme since 2014, we’re always keen to share news about the programme’s impact. We also want our customers to benefit from its positive message of sustainable printing.

Oli Burrows

Customer Services

celebrating earth day 2022

21-04-2022

Holywell Press takes a ‘planet positive’ approach to designing and printing in Oxford. Find out how we’re reducing our environmental impact and discover key facts about the sustainable nature of paper and printing, as we celebrate Earth Day 2022.

holywell supports oxford indie book fair

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

holywell supports oxford indie book fair

08-03-2022

Friend to many self-published authors in and around Oxford, Holywell Press has become a major sponsor of the 2022 Oxford Indie Book Fair, which gives new and established writers an opportunity to showcase their work.

new lithographic printing press celebrations

Oli Burrows

Customer Services

new lithographic printing press celebrations

30-11-2021

Holywell Press customers and staff enjoyed an evening celebration to mark the installation of the Oxford printing company’s new Heidelberg lithographic printing press

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

supporting edge housing's tenth anniversary

25-10-2021

Holywell Press has become a Corporate Ambassador for Edge Housing, an Oxford based charity working to provide safe homes, support, hope and a future to the city’s homeless and vulnerably housed.

Toby Matthews

Creative Designer

holywell joins two sides membership

05-10-2021

Holywell Press has joined Two Sides, the print and paper industry’s global advocate for improving standards and practices and enhancing customer confidence in the graphic communication supply chain.

holywell added to conference oxford’s supplier list

Oli Burrows

Customer Services

holywell added to conference oxford’s supplier list

20-09-2021

As the preferred printer to many Oxford Colleges and Departments, Holwell Press has now joined Conference Oxford’s Supplier List – helping organisations that use the University’s beautiful venues with the design and print of event materials.

new printing press sets up holywell for future success

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

new printing press sets up holywell for future success

09-09-2021

Holwell Press is looking forward to a bright future, increasing printing capacity and delivering faster turnarounds with a new state-of-the-art Heidelberg Speedmaster lithographic press.

Oli Burrows

Customer Services

holywell sponsors the oxford sinfonia

31-08-2021

As live music events resume across Oxfordshire, Holywell Press steps in as the lead sponsor of The Oxford Sinfonia’s upcoming concert performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Oli Burrows

Customer Services

7-step guide to buying print

21-07-2021

Even in the digital age, there are few organisations that don’t need to get something printed at some point. These 7 quick tips will help you get print buying right – and ensure you get the service and print quality you deserve from your local printer.

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

making business cards work harder

07-07-2021

In a world that relies so heavily on technology to communicate, and as we look forward to meeting face-to-face once again, the role of business cards is as important as ever. How can you make the most of this humble business tool?

how to get your book printed | a holywell guide

Oli Burrows

Customer Services

how to get your book printed | a holywell guide

17-05-2021

Congratulations! Your dream of publishing a book is almost realised! You’ve written the content and found images to include, so the hard work is done. But how do you go about printing your book?

climate change and sustainability – reducing our carbon footprint

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

climate change and sustainability – reducing our carbon footprint

15-03-2021

Few products can be described as being truly sustainable, but paper is one of the few that can; it is made of wood, which is both natural and renewable. As trees grow, they absorb CO 2 and paper, as a wood product, continues to store CO 2 throughout its lifetime.

holywell makes self-publishing easy: release your inner author

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

holywell makes self-publishing easy: release your inner author

27-07-2020

Developments in print technology mean it’s never been easier or more cost effective to publish a book. If you’ve written something that you haven’t had published or if you’re in the process of writing now and wondering how to publish a book, we can help.

using colour in print and on screen | a holywell guide

Toby Matthews

Creative Designer

using colour in print and on screen | a holywell guide

30-06-2020

As you can imagine, colour plays a key role in just about everything we do, and accurate and high-quality colour reproduction is something in which we take great pride. With this in mind here’s a helpful basic guide to colour modes, choosing colour palettes and the meaning colours convey.

why long-term relationships benefit customers as much as suppliers

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

why long-term relationships benefit customers as much as suppliers

27-04-2020

As Holywell Press celebrates its 130th anniversary this year - surviving two world wars, the Great Depression and the Spanish Flu pandemic - I am reassured that our policy of building long-term customer relationships will see Holywell and its customers through the current Coranavirus pandemic.

5 tips for supplying artwork for printing

Toby Matthews

Creative Designer

5 tips for supplying artwork for printing

13-01-2020

At Holywell we receive many “print-ready” artwork files of varying quality. Here’s some handy advice that even the most experienced professional designers will find useful in preparing print-ready artwork to achieve optimal results.

conference materials: last minute doesn’t have to mean second rate

Ken Smale

Business Development Director

conference materials: last minute doesn’t have to mean second rate

18-07-2019

Is your organisation gearing up for its annual conference? While some of you may be looking forward to putting your feet up on a sunlit beach, others are busy making plans for their annual gathering of staff and stakeholders. Autumn is traditionally the time when organisations choose to do this.

5 print finishes that make a lasting impression

Toby Matthews

Creative Designer

5 print finishes that make a lasting impression

23-04-2019

One of the biggest advantages print has over digital media is that you can touch it and feel it, even smell it. It provides unique opportunities to convey the qualities and values of a brand – concepts that can be harder to drive home online.

5 reasons why it could be good to choose an illustration over photography

Toby Matthews

Creative Designer

5 reasons why it could be good to choose an illustration over photography

14-02-2019

Illustrations offer an appealing alternative to using photography and generic stock photography in particular. Authenticity and individuality are current buzzwords in graphic design and using illustrations is a good way to achieve both.

Benjamin Burrows

Managing Director

getting the most from holywell press

14-01-2019

Holywell is always happy to offer customers advice on how to get the very best from print in particular, but just as commonly these days on engaging customers through multiple channels, including social media, email, and the web.

what paper should I choose for my print job? | a holywell guide

Toby Matthews

Creative Designer

what paper should I choose for my print job? | a holywell guide

03-08-2018

Paper is at the heart of most of what we do, and one of the first questions we ask customers when they come to us with a print project is what paper they would like print on.

perfect bound books – printing Malcom Graham’s “Diverse Oxfordshire”

Ken Smale

Business Development Director

perfect bound books – printing Malcom Graham’s “Diverse Oxfordshire”

05-03-2018

Given its own long history in Oxford, Holywell Press was understandably honoured to be chosen to print and perfect bind local historian Malcolm Graham’s latest book, Diverse Oxfordshire – The County and its People , on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council.

diverse creative services for a diverse and creative clientele

Ken Smale

Business Development Director

diverse creative services for a diverse and creative clientele

24-01-2018

Over the years, the Holywell Press customer base has expanded to become a rich and varied one. From independent book publishers looking for design and print to theatrical productions wanting programmes printed and everything in between, there’s little we didn’t see last year.

5 key design trends for 2018 – what we will see more of this year

Toby Matthews

Creative Designer

5 key design trends for 2018 – what we will see more of this year

02-01-2018

As we enter the new year, I take a look back at some of the graphic design trends that dominated 2017 and look set to continue into 2018. While designers are constantly searching for ‘the next new look’, there are some definite design trends I have identified as likely to dominate the coming year. ...

bring in more visitors using professionally printed brochures

Ken Smale

Business Development Director

bring in more visitors using professionally printed brochures

07-08-2017

Well printed and carefully designed brochures remain an importartant element of marketing collateral despite the popularity of online marketing. They are collectible items that live longer in the memories of those who receive them or pick them up than a tweet or website visit.