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Ahead of the Curve

Solopress

2022 was a year of significant investment for Solopress and this strategy has been ongoing since managing director Simon Cooper joined the company in 2019. We visited the business to find out more

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Simon Cooper, managing director joined Solopress in 2019

Relentless ambition

After a period of significant investment, one thing that’s clear is that 2023 and beyond is going to see continued growth and expansion from Southend-on-Sea-based Solopress. Cutting its teeth in the industry as an online e-commerce company, Solopress has certainly expanded its offerings over the years and today provides an all-encompassing service as a job aggregator producing everything from litho printing, digital printing, high-speed inkjet printing, wide-format print, and also a range of merchandising items.

Solopress operates from multiple neighbouring sites in Southend-on-Sea


Since current managing director Simon Cooper took over the reins back in 2019, the company has undergone continuous investment and development which has seen it physically expand into new neighbouring premises, as well as add a number of new equipment and technology to its line-up. This has enabled Solopress to expand its offering to trade printers as well as end-users, and remain competitive whilst weathering the storms that have faced the industry in recent times. 

We spoke with Cooper to find out what the past few years have looked like for Solopress, and the company’s ambitious plans for the coming years.

A two-tiered approach

Perhaps the most significant investment for Solopress since Cooper stepped into the role of managing director was its most recent. This saw the company invest almost £5m in new premises and B1 litho capabilities after a record year of investments all round in 2022. However, the strategic focus on expanding production capabilities began years before. 

Whilst he joined the company only four years ago, Cooper’s experience within the print industry spans almost three decades with the managing director first starting out due to his dad already being involved in the print industry. Since then, Cooper has worked in a number of roles within the industry, working his way up from sweeping floors to overseeing an entire business. 

“I’ve worked pretty hard and tried to be brave,” he says, adding: “I’ve said yes a lot, put in more effort than was required, and step by step I kept learning and progressing over time.”

Having made its name servicing end-user customers which are typically small businesses, Solopress has more recently expanded its offering to service trade printers, too. “Really Solopress was a one size fits all, so whether you were a s