Established in 1860 and constantly evolving
Cambrian Printers’ history began in 1860 in newspaper publishing and printing. Originally founded by Sir John Gibson the company has prospered through four generations of Read family ownership. The printing division of the company grew alongside the newspaper until they separated in 1994 when Cambrian Printers moved into their current premises on the outskirts of Aberystwyth. In 1998 the two newspaper titles owned by the company were sold to allow investment in the printing plant, by then seen as the core business.
We have historically met the challenge of the new, investing in the right technologies at the right time. Surviving for over 150 years in a competitive business has taught us that we must embrace new technologies and develop them quickly.
Cambrian Printers installed one of the earliest powered presses in the World and were among the first to use photo-typesetting (Photon glass disk-based font imaging), and liquid polymer plate conversion of the newspaper press.
Desk Top Publishing brought a quantum leap in productivity to our company in 1987 and later on in 1996 our newspapers were among the first in the world to transfer files as PDF from our database publishing system to remote printing sites. This experience helped us understand the printing needs of our publishing customers and by 1999 we were 90% PDF and leading the industry in installing one of the first Scitex Lotem 800V CTP platesetters in the country, a device acknowledged as the best of its kind.
Ten years later on and PDF is still the standard for file tranfer while JDF (job definition format), though less visible to our customers, is quietly automating internal production processes and improving efficiencies. The internet has transformed business and we have kept pace with online quoting, ordering, proofing and even publishing now available to our customers.
The ISO 9001 quality standard was gained in 1999 and the IS14001 Environmental Management standard in 2004. EMAS accreditation was gained in 2010, which along with a whole array of industry awards sets us apart as true market leaders in environmental print.
To see some more pictures from our history click here.
As you can see from our news archive pages, investment and innovation continue.
No doubt the future holds further challenges and we will evolve to meet them.
