Jonathan Pert speaks to a range of suppliers within print, to get advice on choosing a trade supplier and how the role of suppliers has shifted in recent years
With print firms increasingly relying on trade suppliers and specialist partners to help absorb capacity, a solid supply chain can effectively act as an extension of your business. The best suppliers can boost your output, capabilities, and customer reach – but that dependency also raises the stakes. Rising material costs, lead‑time volatility, sustainability expectations, and tightening margins mean that even trusted suppliers must be managed as strategic allies, rather than back‑ups.
In this feature, we examine a number of key suppliers in the industry to discover how print businesses can evolve with collaborative alliances, how the role of suppliers has evolved in recent years, and what advice they would give to those looking to choose a supplier in the future.
Mark Andy Print Products (MAPP) offers a comprehensive portfolio of OEM and aftermarket equipment, parts, and consumables suitable for a range of equipment including all makes and models of flexographic presses. Its portfolio aims to enable label and packaging printers to maximise press uptime and deliver the high print quality that brands and retailers are seeking. This range includes a complete lineup of tesa plate mounting tapes.
Andy Clarke, European operations director for MAPP, explains: “We are the world’s largest distributor of tesa tapes and have in-house slitting capabilities in Europe and the US, which means we can provide the right products, slit exactly to size, and deliver when and where needed.”
When asked about the importance of suppliers, Clarke’s answer is clear: “Suppliers are critical to the print supply chain: they always have been and always will be.” What has changed in recent years, according to Clarke, is suppliers’ role as a collaborative and consultative partner who are able to facilitate long-term business success.
“Printers today are under extreme pressure to provide sustainable products of the highest quality but at the lowest possible cost,” Clarke asserts. “Manufacturers and suppliers must be able to guide and advise printers through this complex landscape. For example, sustainability should not be viewed solely through the prism of recyclability. Maximising machine uptime, increasing utilisation of available resources, and minimising production waste are all important considerations to the overall environmental footprint of printers.”
Through MAPP’s market knowledge, technical expertise, and wide product portfolio, the company aims to give printers the tools to both improve their performance, and support their ESG and CSR goals. “We also maintain regular contact with our customers,” Clarke explains, “in order to ensure we stay ahead of their needs and anticipate challenges they may face in the future. When you consult with customers in this way, the relationship often goes beyond business, and that way friendships are forged.”
MAPP is working to increase its product portfolio, including adding more products within its private-brand Performance Line. The company is also collaborating with a number of industry experts to develop bespoke solutions such as its Flex Die high-quality flexible dies for label printing.
“The addition of SmartSupply is another development that our customer base has responded strongly to,” Clarke adds. “This enables them to electronically and automatically maintain control of their stocks of consumables and for us to ensure customers never run out of all important products and solutions that they use every day to keep their pressrooms working at full capacity.”
Summing up how he feels MAPP’s approach as a supplier has led to its success, Clarke concludes: “The fact we have so much repeat business, coupled with positive customer testimonials that generate word-of-mouth leads, is testament to the success of how we approach the market.”
Sandon Global is a manufacturer and supplier of anilox rolls, anilox sleeves, and cylinders used in both flexographic and lithographic print. Exporting to more than 70 countries, the ISO 9001 accredited company focuses on setting high standards in its engineering, research, and product quality.
Jake Roberts, sales director at Sandon Global, explains the company’s approach, saying: “Every anilox sleeve, roller, mandrel, and end ring is manufactured and assembled in-house at our UK site in Runcorn, UK, giving us full control over materials, tolerances, and finishes.”
According to Roberts, the role of suppliers has shifted towards a greater emphasis on collaboration across the entire print supply chain. As he asserts: “Customers increasingly expect suppliers to work together – from press and plates to anilox, inks, doctor blades, tapes, and beyond – to deliver integrated solutions.
“At Sandon Global, we embrace this through joint project work with OEMs and industry leading partners, ensuring measurable improvements in print performance. Our dedicated R&D print demonstration centre means we can work with both suppliers and customers to test, trial, and refine solutions.”
This collaborative approach, reflective of the collaboration seen in the wider print industry, aims to not only support customers and partners but also to help drive innovation. As Roberts highlights: “We focus on open communication and trust, which is why many of our partnerships have lasted decades.
“Our customers also view Sandon Global anilox as long-term assets rather than consumables, thanks to their proven durability and consistent performance. With the right care, our products deliver reliable results for years, building lasting value into every customer relationship.”
Roberts suggests taking an active part in the industry can help to find the right supplier for you, rather than simply searching online. Sandon is itself an active member of trade associations such as the Flexographic Industry Association UK (FIA UK). “In this way, we stay connected to emerging trends, standards, and technologies shaping the flexo industry,” says Roberts, who adds: “Our ongoing R&D investment also ensures that we remain at the forefront of materials science and superior print performance. We share the technical expertise that we gather through seminars, training, and hands-on support, ensuring customers benefit directly from both industry insights and our applied knowledge.”
Venture Banners is a trade-only supplier of wide-format print, producing everything from standard roller banners and pop-out banner systems to flags, stretch fabric displays, external hoardings, and display boards.
Speaking about how the company’s offering differs from the wider market, Scott Conway, director of Venture Banners, says: “It is that focus on wide-format that differentiates us from other trade suppliers. Our mission is to help print businesses of all sizes to capitalise on the numerous lucrative revenue streams within this area of the industry, offering customers excellent service, transparent pricing, and, as the name suggests, great banners.”
Conway has seen a number of shifts in the market which have affected the role of suppliers. Commenting on these shifts, he says: “The way people order wide-format print is changing and with that has come expectations of faster and faster turnaround times.
“In response to this, we’ve recently invested considerably to expand our capacity and also to build in redundant capacity for those occasions when things go wrong. As a result, we can now consistently offer faster turnaround times, and for some work we are now even able to offer express turnaround times for a nominal fee.”
Conway’s advice for those looking to choose a supplier focuses on assessing the honesty of its claims and verifying its authenticity. Conway suggests: “When you’re evaluating a business, make sure that it can back up what it says it can do. Is what it’s offering stack up in terms of the wider industry offering, or does it sound too good to be true?
When you’re evaluating a business, make sure that it can back up what it says it can do
“We would always prefer to turn business away, albeit reluctantly, than to let someone down, and that honesty underpins the way that we’ve built our production workflow.”
Staying current with the latest industry trends is of high importance to the company, with Venture regularly attending industry events, speaking to equipment vendors, getting input from customers, and staying up to date with industry news and trends through the trade press and social media. As Conway affirms: “Ultimately, staying current with industry trends is all about talking to people, and that is also how we share knowledge with our customers – in person, on the phone, via our blog, through PR, and on social media.”
Conway’s final piece of advice for those looking for suppliers is to be wary of ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions that are not tailored to your particular needs. As he puts it: “We could never take a one-size-fits-all approach because we have such a broad mix of customers.
“What they all have in common is that they recognise the potential of wide-format print to help them grow their businesses, but aside from that they all buy from us for very different reasons. Being able to anticipate their needs really comes down to understanding the print business and their marketing, so that we can appreciate the different drivers behind them choosing us.”
Very Displays are another trade-only partner for the display and print industry, supplying a wide range of portable display products to resellers at competitive trade prices. Its offering includes roller banners, promotional flags, lightboxes, and café barriers.
For Kirsty Corcoran, marketing manager at Very Displays, what sets the company apart is its combination of quality, consistency, and first-class service. As she explains: “From in-house trade printing and finishing to a dedicated account manager and long product guarantees, every aspect of our process is designed to support our customers’ growth. Every order undergoes quality checks and test fits before it leaves the door, ensuring reliability with no compromises on cost or quality.”
Like others we spoke to, Corcoran acknowledges the evolving role of suppliers, asserting that “being a supplier today means being a trusted partner every step of the way.” Explaining the way that Very’s approach has evolved to meet these needs, she continues: “Customers rely on us not just for products, but for our expertise and guidance. It’s our duty to fully understand every product and the wider industry landscape, so that we can provide that additional care and support to our resellers.”
Being a supplier today means being a trusted partner every step of the way. Customers rely on us not just for products, but for our expertise and guidance
Additionally, because the company is trade-only, Very’s focus is entirely on supporting clients, according to Corcoran. “Everything we do is about helping resellers deliver exactly what their customers need with confidence – asking the right questions, keeping communication open, and advising on the best solutions for their customers. We work with a range of business sizes, and the local print shop will require a different service to the large-scale printers, so we are happy to tailor our service to suit the individual business.”
Corcoran’s advice for those choosing a supplier is to “think long-term”, saying: “It’s not just about price but reviewing the whole picture: product quality, reliability, service, and the support it offers.
“The right supplier should feel like an extension of your team, a business which makes your job easier and adds value to your business, not just a company that fulfils orders. That’s exactly how we approach things at Very Displays: building lasting relationships, offering dependable products, cost-effective solutions, and investing in tools to give resellers even more support.”
VB Media is an ecommerce platform built specifically for the print industry, aiming to give printers the tools they need to get their business online without a heavy price tag. Designed to fit the diverse needs of printers, a VB Media website can be utilised in many ways including for print ecommerce, private storefronts, web-to-print sites, trade ecommerce, drop shipping, and merchandise.
Speaking about the growth of VB Media since launch, Gavin DeBoos, director of VB Media, says: “What began as a mission to provide print businesses the tools to sell print anywhere has evolved into a web-to-print offering that in many ways, functions as an effective workflow solution too.”
Through utilising VB’s in-built Order Management tool, users can gain control over order onboarding, receive and add orders, manage and track jobs, and opt to fulfil work in-house or send items to connected suppliers such as Route 1 Print, Solopress, and Tradeprint.
Speaking about the changing role of suppliers within the print industry, DeBoos comments: “As more print businesses evolve and diversify into additional markets to remain competitive, utilising a print supplier can be a cost- and space-effective way to expand the range of products they offer, without the investment in equipment or additional floor space.”
The role of software suppliers from a broader perspective is also constantly evolving, according to DeBoos. He highlights that print businesses are increasingly searching for software solutions that reduce manual tasks, excessive data entry, and free up time to invest in the business elsewhere. He states: “At VB Media, we are constantly evolving and adapting our offering in response to feedback from our customers and the print industry more widely.
Factoid: 54% of business leaders consider transparency to be the most important supplier quality, according to the Deloitte Global Outsourcing Survey
“Many of our customers use our in-built order management system as an effective workflow solution and customers on our Pro tier have the option to use it to create their own workflows to suit their business needs. We recently expanded on this further by introducing platform-level integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage accounting software, and the shopVOX business management tool.”
When asked about his advice for people choosing a supplier, DeBoos suggests exploring each partner’s solutions to see which products are best suited to your existing offering. “There may be products that are complementary to your product range or products that you hadn’t considered offering due to limitations such as investment in technology, limited floor space, or lack of experience or knowledge of a niche product,” he says.
Customers increasingly expect suppliers to work together to deliver integrated solutions
“Adding these new products could mean the difference between customers seeking out your business as a one-stop-shop for all their needs or shopping elsewhere. With VB Media’s offering, users can add products from any or all of the connected suppliers on a product-by-product basis, providing a flexible and scalable offering for print businesses looking to diversify.”
Whether its software, print, parts, consumables, or anything to keep your business running, a healthy and proactive supplier relationship is clearly essential going into 2026.
