News from Pepper, your Direct Mail and Printing Partner

Pepper News

Pepper Visits Drupa
10th June 2008

From the 27th May -11th June Drupa, the worlds largest Print Media exhibition took place in Düsseldorf , Germany . Our team of directors were lucky enough to be guests of Heidelberg, the largest exhibitor and arguably the most influential. The vastness of the show is mind blowing with all the major players in the industry, and many smaller ones, coming together to show off their wares.

Here is what director Jude Whitford had to say – “It’s a great place to come and get an overall feel of what the print industry as a whole is doing and see the latest innovations and technological developments which will help us and our clients strive into the future.”

Jude and Steve Whitford were taken on a VIP dinner and treated to a dance interpretation of the history of print. We all enjoyed the Altstadt (Old Town) area and stayed on interesting hotel boats moored on the Rhine River.

All in all it was a good trip and offered great insight into the future of our industry.

Jamie Ahearn Players Player
5th June 2008

Account Manager Jamie Ahearn who captains Launceston FC in the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League was awarded the Players Player award for most outstanding player of the season as voted for by his fellow team mates. Jamie also won the managers player award which is voted for by the management team for who they think was the best player over the season..

Jamies says - "The Players Player is the best trophy to win at any club. It shows what your other team mates think of you as a player and it gives you a really good buzz inside knowing you are respected by your fellow team players."

Congratulations Jamie!

David Timmins Kicks his Way to a Green Belt.
2nd June 2008

Sales director David Timmins has attained his Green Belt in Kick boxing. After months of training and a rigorous grading exam where he had to not only perform a set of routine combinations, pad work and continuous fitness but spar two partners for 10mins! He passed convincingly to collect his Green belt, the 4th in the series. Congratulations David!

New Consumer Protection Legislation
14th May 2008

The Consumer Protection for Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 comes into force on 26 May, subject to the Regulations passing smoothly through Parliament. This major new piece of consumer protection legislation replaces many existing laws with new concepts of misleading actions/omissions and aggressive practices. There is also a general provision imposing a duty not to trade unfairly, and for the first time in the areas of marketing and advertising, breaches can attract criminal sanctions as well as civil penalties.

There are 31 listed trade practices which are explicitly banned, for example restricting the use of the word ‘free’ or making persistent and unwanted solicitations by telephone, fax, email or other remote media, both of which can be punishable by jail.

A summary of what the legislation means for you can be found here and the DMA is also offering advice.

Devon Wildlife Trust Corporate Members
8th May 2008

We are proud to announce our continuing support of the Devon Wildlife Trust who do such good work all around the county in which our headquarters and main manufacturing plant is based.

Established as a registered charity in 1962, the Devon Wildlife Trust has a unique and influential position. Unique because it is the only organisation concerned with all aspects of wildlife conservation in Devon . Influential because it is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, a nationwide network dedicated to the achievement of a UK richer in wildlife.

Devon Wildlife Trust's vision for Devon :

A place where the future of wildlife is secure - DWT strives to safeguard threatened species and landscapes.
A place where wildlife is plentiful, varied and widespread - DWT works with all kinds - in the city and in the countryside, on land and in our seas.
A place where the benefits of wildlife are shared and enjoyed by all - DWT works for people too, giving everyone the chance to share and enjoy Devon 's natural heritage and help secure it for future generations.

UK 3rd Largest importer of illegal Logging
15th April 2008

According to research from the WWF, the conservation group, estimates that the EU is responsible for €3bn (£2bn) of the global €10bn-€15bn in revenue lost to countries of origin. Of Britain 's annual imports of about 7.9 million cubic metres of wood, the environmental group believes 2.2 million cubic metres is illegally logged: 600,000 hectares of forest each year - nearly three times the size of Luxembourg .

28 per cent of timber arriving in the UK comes from trees that should still be standing and if you include timber and paper made from illegally logged trees (bringing the UK to 2.3 million cubic metres) there are only 2 worse offenders in the EU - Finland and Sweden, responsible for 5.1 million and 2.6 million respectively. Britain 's total is 50 per cent higher than Germany 's, almost double that of France and four times that of Spain .

Illegal logging causes manifold social and environmental problems, including climate change, lower public revenue, increased corruption, removal of indigenous people from tribal land and habitat loss for endangered animals.

The WWF's estimates (no one can be sure) are based on the levels of illegal logging in exporter countries, which can be as high as 80 per cent for countries such as Indonesia , which have widespread corruption. Indonesia accounts for the highest value of wood imports into the EU - about five per cent.

The wood arrives in many forms in the UK , sometimes as logs, as plywood, or as finished products such as garden furniture. However, it is not illegal in Britain to import timber illegally logged abroad.

In the UK , consumers can make sure their furniture, floors, toys and other goods are legal by buying wood carrying the label of the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC oversees teams of auditors that check forests to ensure trees are being re-planted and the rate of felling is sustainable. Most certified forests are in Europe and North America .

Nick Cliffe, the director of the Forest Stewardship Council UK , said: " Look for the FSC mark and if you don't see it walk away."

DM Perceptions
15th April 2008

Direct Marketing has always been an industry that strives to understand and respond to the changing needs of consumers. Keeping up to date with trends has been vital in ensuring the continued health and ongoing, robust growth of the sector.

Consumers are becoming actively involved in the marketing process in an attempt to filter the information so that they only have what they need.

The findings from Participation Media 2007 conducted by the DMA provide positive indications for the direct marketing industry in 2008. It provides excellent evidence for the effectiveness of many of the key media and methods from the consumer’s perspective.

Below is a summary of some of the key points

:• Responses to direct mail were almost twice as positive in reality than first perceived.

• Door drops scored highly in terms of convenience and provision of information.

• The valuable role of marketing is demonstrated by those who value access to information before they make a purchase. The desire to be well informed prior to purchase is consistent across all demographic types.

• Consumers are becoming more reluctant to share their personal information with companies due to heightened awareness of identity fraud and high profile incidences of data loss in the media.

• The internet through its role in changing society has a knock on effect of changing the way in which consumers react to marketing messages.

• Each medium has a role to play with the right audience at the right time.

• Positive responses to email marketing have increased by 3.1%, indicating a growing acceptance and appreciation of the medium.

• Television and radio ads, field marketing, customer magazines and inserts lead the field in generating retail traffic.

New Heidelberg Stahlfolder TH/KH
12th April 2008

The Stahlfolders of the new TH/KH generation delivers the quality and speed that buyers now expect of print shops and binderies. Their efficient automation components speed make-ready to greatly boost output. Their new, ergonomic control systems effectively support the user from start to finish. Complete integration of these folding machines in both the production line and the management workflow makes job handling much more transparent. Once captured or defined, production data can be used throughout the process. This taps additional potentials for realizing savings while making production more reliable.

For more information on how you can utilise this new technology in your next job contact your account director

New TNT Post Option
8th April 2008

After a review of our down stream postal provider we have chosen TNT Post as our preferred DSA provider. Through TNT we can now offer a 2 day definite service offering faster, more reliable and more cost effective delivery of bulk mail. This is TNT Post's alternative to Mailsort 1 and 2 for all sortation outputs: 120, 700 and 1400. Utilising the size, scale, resources, delivery and logistics expertise of TNT's UK operations we collect your mail, sorted to Royal Mail specifications, before delivery to their mail centres within agreed time slots.

Premier offers organizations a fast, reliable and cost effective delivery of pre-sorted bulk mail. The service is based on a simple principle, the more work that is done to sort your post before it is handed to TNT Post, the greater the savings and better the efficiency!

Benefits:

Competitive and flexible pricing providing savings
100% UK Coverage
Fast and reliable 2 day service
Late, flexible pick up times
Use of tracking systems enabling improved visibility prompt discrepancy reporting, proof of delivery, management and control

Contact your account director to discuss how you could save money switching to TNT.

Royal Mail Rate Changes
6th April 2008

Royal Mail have new pricing structures for products and services, which came into effect on Monday 7 April 2008.

For more details of these prices you can download the appropriate price guide below. The guides are in PDF format, and you can view them using the free Acrobat Reader.

Business mail services
Download prices for services including Special Delivery™, Cleanmail®, Contract Packets, Collection & Delivery options and UK and International services.

Business mail services price guide.pdf (541KB)

Marketing & bulk mail services
Find out about prices for services such as Door to Door, Royal Mail Heavyweight™, Big Book, Mailsort®, Walksort® and Presstream®.

Marketing & bulk mail services price guide.pdf (472KB)

Price wallcharts
View postage prices at a glance with these convenient printable wallcharts.

UK postage prices wallchart.pdf
(147KB)
International postage prices wallchart.pdf A4
(120KB)
International postage prices wallchart.pdf A3
(147KB)

PEPPER ACHIEVES FSC CERTIFICATION
14thFEBRUARY 2008

We have recently been independently audited and certified as an FSC Certified Printing Company. This acknowledges that we are deemed compliant with the FSC's stringent regulations to become part of the FSC Chain of Custody system. To celebrate we have launched a new environmental section of our website. Go here to read about our Enviromental Ethos. To find out what Chain of Custody is and how you can utilise the power of on product labeling on your printed products visit our dedicated FSC page or call your account manager who will be happy to answer any questions you may have and send you the logo's so you can add them to your artwork.

SETH WHITFORD TO PRESENT AT ENVIRONMENTAL LAW SEMINAR
31th January 2008

This month director Seth Whitford will take to the stage to give a presentation on how going green makes good business sense as part of an Environmental Law seminar organized by Envision.

Seth is one of a number of speakers from companies such as Bond Pearce and The Environment Agency who will be presenting. Seth will illustrate how Pepper, by going green, has not only reduced our carbon footprint and helped save the planet but also saved on costs and increased efficiency. To see Envisions case study on Pepper click here.

Envision who are hosting the event help companies realize the business benefits of going green. The event takes place in Plymouth on 21st February 2008 and in Bodmin on 26th February 2008 from 09:45 until 13:00 with lunch and refreshments provided. For more information click here.

AMANDA BOTHA WINS VALENTINES PACKAGE!
30th January 2008

Amanda Botha from Team Europe has won our Valentines package of Champagne, roses and chocolates for this picture!

Apparently dancing on the table inevitably led to a drinks spillage and a very wet crotch for one unlucky fellow!

Congratulations Amanda!

JAKE WHITFORD APPOINTED AS NEW PRODUCTION MANAGER
18th January 2008

Jake Whitford has taken on a new role this year as Production Manager. Having been an account manager on the mailing side of the business for several years and prior to that, project managing the move to our new premises Jake is now ready for his next challenge.

As Production Manager he is ultimately responsible for the whole of production, all its resources, and the production office. It is his responsibility to manage the flow of work throughout the company by overseeing the planning and scheduling of work, co-ordinating the systems and procedures, assuring quality and ensuring the employees perform to the best of their abilities. What this means for you is that your work is done to the best of our ability to the highest quality and delivered on time.

To find out a little more about Jake click here.

CUSTOMER DELIGHT!
18th January 2008

Part of Our key focus this year is on customer delight, real honest-to-god customer service of un-paralleled quality, striving for customer sovereignty at unprecedented levels in the print industry. Just send us in a spec for an up coming print or mailing job to quote on and you’ll receive a whole packet for free!

PEPPER HAS A SPECIAL GUEST
15th January 2008


Hiding behind Daddy!	All curled up

Honey the Old English Mastiff has been joining us in work this week to escape the noisy work men at home. Her contributions of the odd bark and slober have not always been welcomed but she mostly keeps her self to her self, just snoozing around the office! A good thing too as she weighs in at around 74 Kilos! And she's only 1!


Whats that flashing thing?	Nice ear rub from Seth

WIN ROSES, CHAMPAGNE AND CHOCOLATES FOR VALENTINES, JUST SEND US YOU OFFICE PARTY PICS!
8th January 2008

The office Christmas party may seem like a distant memory now, and for some that will be a welcome thought but this month we want to really see what went on. We've uploaded a few pictures from our party night so there's no need to feel shy. If you embarrassed your self silly, let yourself, the other half or indeed everyone that knows you down, then we want to see the evidence. In return we'll make your valentines a breeze with champagne, roses and chocolates for that special someone in your life! All you need to do to send them is click here We look forward to your pics and good luck!