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Phil Moulds on Making a Good Impression with Print

By Phil Moulds

Owner, Pressplus Ltd and IVC Print Club Ltd

In the four decades that Phil Moulds has been in the print business, he has embraced remarkable changes in the industry – the latest of which is a fresh demand for printing as screen-weary consumers are craving personal customer service and tangible marketing.

Having begun his printing profession with a course in print, design and production in Southampton, Phil swiftly made his way up through printing and sales roles before he established his own company in 2003.

Pressplus has since printed everything from greetings cards for high street shops like Clintons to branded merchandise for vets across the country through IVC Evidensia, the global leader in veterinary care.

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What's your motivator?

Without a doubt, being out with customers and clients.

I like making things happen – if you've got the right team of people around you, the right attitude, and the willingness to try and help – anything is possible.

We do a lot of things like influencer boxes where people receive a nicely branded box with some merchandise inside. For one of our large Tech clients, we send out a personalised pack for their new clients to say thank you for joining. There are a lot of ways to make people feel special through printed products – it’s a big opportunity for companies to rethink their marketing strategies.

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What three words describe your style?

Positive. I always like to bring a positive attitude to things.

Happy. I try to make people feel good about themselves.

Reliable. I never let people down – if I say I’m going to do something, I’ll do it.

What are your top tips for print marketing?

It needs to be targeted and individualised – the best responses are from personalised mailings.

Make it attention-grabbing – rather than just a leaflet, use something different like a special finish, or a pop-up. If someone receives something a bit memorable, then they’re more likely to remember the company.

The thing with print is that you can engage in senses which you can’t do online. If you do something using soft touch lamination, for example, it feels silky and nice to touch.

"There are a lot of ways to make people feel special through printed products – it’s a big opportunity for companies to rethink their marketing strategies."

Phil Moulds, Owner of Pressplus Ltd and IVC Print Club Ltd

What’s a common misconception about printing?

People think that paper making has a negative impact from cutting down trees, but that’s not true. Using recycled paper is more damaging to the environment than using a FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) paper, which is the only paper we use.

Paper is a farmed product which means it’s constantly being replanted and regrown, taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and putting oxygen back in. And paper mills will often take water out of a river, which is then cleaner when it goes back into the river – so there are quite a few environmental benefits to making paper.

We also carbon capture our paper purchases. Our paper supplier works out how much carbon it takes to get it from the forest to our factory, and we pay that bit extra for all our paper to go to the Woodland Trust who replant forests all over the UK.

What’s on your bucket list?

My goal is to get a bit more of a balance – work has taken up a huge amount of my time over the last few years and part of the reason for joining the Old Bond Store is to try to do things differently – working with new opportunities and working with companies that share the same positive outlook.

"The thing with print is that you can engage in senses which you can't online."

Phil Moulds, Owner of Pressplus Ltd and IVC Print Club Ltd

What’s your go-to way to switch off?

Getting out in nature. We’re lucky to live in the New Forest. We’ve got acres of beautiful countryside near to us and lots of lovely beaches on our coastline.

I enjoy sport as well. I’ve always played a lot of tennis, and I like running to clear the head. I’ve got two teenage daughters who are also quite active with hockey and athletics which we spend a lot of time doing.

What’s one of your proud moments?

I saved Christmas one year! The company that was doing all the kids’ Christmas cards went bust just before Christmas. It was the school that the girls were at, all the kids had done all their artwork, and we were able to step in and get them printed so that was a nice moment.

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