About SM Print - We Know Print. We Know People.

Printing Experience Going Back to 1988

SM Print was established in 2012, but our experience in print goes back much further.

Founder Simon Minto began working in the printing industry in 1988 and has experienced first-hand the enormous changes that have transformed commercial print over nearly four decades.

From traditional production methods through to today's sophisticated digital printing and finishing technology, that experience provides a practical understanding of what makes a printed job work.

Because producing great print involves much more than simply putting an image onto paper. Paper choice, artwork preparation, colour, trimming, folding, binding, finishing and understanding how different materials behave during production all contribute to the finished result.

It is knowledge built through years of actually producing print - and knowledge we put into the work that passes through SM Print.

An Independent North East Printing Company

Since establishing SM Print in 2012, we've built the business around a straightforward idea: produce good print, provide good service and make it easy for customers to do business with us.

We're based in County Durham and work with businesses and organisations throughout Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Teesside and the wider North East, while our online service allows us to supply professionally printed products to customers throughout the UK.

Being independent matters to us. Customer relationships still matter. If somebody contacts us with a question, unusual specification or deadline, we want them to be able to speak to someone who understands how the job will actually be produced.

Digital Print Is at the Heart of What We Do

Modern digital printing allows us to produce excellent quality economically in relatively small quantities, making it ideal for the way businesses buy print today.

You don't necessarily need thousands of copies. You can print what you actually need, update information when necessary and order again when stocks begin to run low.

Our paper-based print range includes:

• Business cards
• Leaflets and flyers
• Folded leaflets
• Greetings cards, notelets and postcards
• Booklets and brochures
• Training manuals
• Short-run perfect-bound books
• Posters and promotional print

Alongside our paper-based products, we produce large-format print including display boards, banners, roller banners, canvas prints, signage and exhibition graphics.

Much of Your Print Is Produced and Finished In-House

Keeping production under our control is important to us. From printing and trimming through to folding, creasing, saddle stitching, Wire-O binding and other finishing processes, much of the work we sell is produced and finished by us.

We're not simply taking an online order and passing it somewhere else. We're printers.

Having direct involvement in production gives us greater control over quality and allows us to respond when a customer has a particular requirement or genuine deadline.

Online Printing - With Real People Behind It

We've designed our website for customers who already have print-ready artwork and want a straightforward way to order.

Choose your product, select the specification and quantity, upload your artwork and place your order online.

But SM Print isn't intended to be a faceless online print factory.

If you're unsure whether you've selected the right paper, need something that isn't available through the website, have a production question about your artwork or you're working towards an important deadline, you can contact us.

You'll be speaking to people who understand print and the equipment and processes used to produce it.

We think that combination - the convenience of online ordering with the support of an experienced independent printer - is one of the things that makes SM Print different.

Meet Simon

SM Print was founded in 2012 by Simon Minto, whose career in the printing industry began in 1988.

Over more than three decades in print, Simon has seen the industry move from traditional production methods to the highly capable digital printing and finishing technology available today.

But one thing has remained constant throughout his working life: a willingness to keep learning.

That philosophy has taken Simon well beyond printing. Over the years he continued to develop new skills, founding and running a Sports Injury Clinic as its principal therapist and later spending five years working in skydiving as a Tandem Skydiving Instructor and camera flyer.

For the past eight years, Simon and his fiancée Lisa have also been foster carers, opening their home to ten children during that time.

Those experiences are very different from printing, but they share some important qualities: responsibility, attention to detail, adaptability, problem solving, continuing to learn and, above all, working with people.

That outlook has influenced the way Simon has developed SM Print too.

Rather than simply doing things the way they've always been done, we continue to improve our knowledge, equipment and processes and look for better ways to produce print and make ordering easier for customers.

Technology may have transformed printing since 1988, but experience still matters. At SM Print, we combine both.

More Than Just Print

At first glance, printing, sports therapy, jumping out of aeroplanes and fostering might not appear to have much in common.

But each requires you to take responsibility, understand what you're doing, adapt when circumstances change and recognise that the person relying on you matters.

Those principles sit comfortably with the way we want to run SM Print.

We're ambitious about what we do and always willing to learn, but we haven't forgotten that behind every online order is a real person or business relying on us to get something right.

Quality Without Making Print Complicated

The printing industry is full of terminology: gsm, bleed, CMYK, lamination, perfect binding, saddle stitching, Wire-O, coated and uncoated papers.

We understand it. We don't expect every customer to.

Our product pages and artwork guides are designed to explain the important choices in straightforward language so customers can order with confidence.

And if you already know exactly what you need, we won't make the process unnecessarily complicated. Select your specification, upload your print-ready artwork and place your order.

Working to a Deadline?

Print is often needed for a reason: an exhibition, a meeting, a product launch, a training course, an event, a mailing - or simply because you've just realised you're nearly out.

That's why we don't like making blanket turnaround promises that ignore the specification of the job.

If you have a genuine deadline, tell us when you need your print. We'll do our best to accommodate it and, importantly, we'll tell you what is realistically achievable.

More Than What's in the Online Shop

Not every print job fits neatly into an online price calculator.

Our website covers the products and specifications customers order most frequently, but our capabilities extend beyond those standard options.

If you need a custom size, unusual paper, different quantity, bespoke finishing or simply have a print project you're not sure how to specify, talk to us.

If it's something we can produce, we'll explain the options and provide a bespoke quotation.

Ready to Print?

Explore our range and order online, or get in touch if you'd rather discuss your requirements first.

Have print-ready artwork? Browse our products, choose your specification and upload your files when you order. Need something different or working to a deadline? We're here to help - just tell us what you're trying to produce and when you need it.