natura print

Our job — and added value — is to provide our clients with an all-inclusive printing service. Our constant aim is to take our clients from quote request to delivery with 'zero-worries'.

For greater insight into natura print, we asked its manager, Séverine Carlier, to answer a few questions.

How broad a range of printing services does natura print offer?

Séverine Carlier, head of natura print

Séverine: To be honest, we can offer pretty much everything! As of 1948, when the company was founded, we provided a range of printing services on site. As we grew we realised that we wanted to be able to offer more options. We wanted to print faster, bigger and better. But to do so required increasing investments and we found ourselves not able to keep up even though business was going well. So we started to brokerage. We started to create durable relationships with select printers both in our region and around the world. The deal was simple, let us do the managing, give us credible wholesale discounts and let us do the selling. Obviously, as the volume grew, so too did our ability to negotiate prices, quality standards and environmentally-friendly practices.

The result is that we can now offer a very broad service range that is not limited by our own machines. The client wins out. They get great prices, quality assurance and top print management resulting from over 60 years of printing experience.

How does natura print define quality service?

Séverine: I define quality of service as zero worries. Basically, you want to give your files to a printer knowing that she (or he) will take the time to check them, send them to press, validate the run on press, follow up on all the binding and ultimately deliver the job on time looking better than you expected. That’s what the client wants, and that’s what I want.

I want to add the ‘natura’ component to my answer as well. I think, I hope, that clients come to us because we are first and foremost a great printer that offers great prices. But they also come to us because we are a green printer. They therefore expect that we are able to deliver output that is anchored in respect for the environment.

So, to fully answer your question, I believe that our commitment to quality is worry free, affordable printing that is certified green.

Who do you work for?

Séverine: I knew this question was coming. Yes, we are the only mondofragilis group company that works for the private sector as well as the UN, civil society and governments. When natura print joined mondofragilis group, we asked ourselves the question: should we, as do our sister companies otjiwarongo consulting and messaggio studios, work exclusively for the public interest sector? We decided that the primary goal for natura print was to save trees, save water and otherwise print with a green commitment. As such, if we could change the attitude and expectations of private companies we would be benefitting us all.

Obviously, we refuse to work with private companies that are not respectful of generally accepted good conduct rules. Notably, we have chosen to stop working with major clients who we discovered were involved, even remotely, with tobacco or any other harmful industry. Clearly, we would not work for any company in the arms sector, those who violate human, children’s or women’s rights and so forth.

Now for the happier part of my answer: we have some great clients! We are really proud to work for some of the top companies in the world and especially for the most amazing public interest clients. This is what makes me feel proud every morning. To think that I oversee the printing of documents for the World AIDS Campaign, the World Health Organization or hundreds of other UN agencies, ngos and governments that do good makes me and the rest of the staff feel great.

Is natura print affordable or is it priced beyond UN or civil society means?

Séverine: To my knowledge, we are one of the very very very few green printing brokers out there. That’s our strength. Very few competitors can offer a fully green guarantee at a consistently low price. We are not always the cheapest, there is still quite a bit of competition out there, but we are always competitive. When we lose a bid, it’s usually by a couple of percentage points, not more. When the difference is greater, I can usually trace the difference to some quality aspect. The other printer might be using a less expensive, but not certified, paper. The inks are not always the same quality. Or the labour is not treated fairly.

As a ‘green’ printing brokerage, is natura print ‘green’ itself?

Séverine: Being green is our company goal, it would be hypocritical if we didn’t practice what we preach. We, like all the mondofragilis group companies, are a member of the United Nations Global Compact so we try to be as pro-environmental as possible and naturally we care about working conditions. Every member of the natura print team has a ‘green’ attitude - we try to keep the office running as ecologically as possible. It’s not always easy though, and we are always striving to do more to maintain and improve our ‘green’ practices.

How does a printing company succeed in a global market?

Séverine: Well, the beauty of being a brokerage is that it’s easy to be international! We can partner with printing facilities that are close to our client. On top of this I think that our success comes from our history, we have been in business since 1948. In all humility, we seem to be doing well. We print for clients on four continents already. What we think is missing is more representation abroad but we are not in a hurry. We’ve only been a part of mondofragilis group since 2006 and so the priority was to integrate the group and its philosophy. The next step will likely be to hire new agents abroad.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Séverine: About me? Those who know me know that it’s difficult to make this about me. natura print is about ‘us’. But yes, I do have a story of my own and that is ‘printing’. I’ve worked in printing my whole professional career. Before being given the opportunity of heading natura print, I worked on the presses, I developed film the old fashion way, made plates, prepared files. My background is printing, not sales, not marketing, not management, I love the output itself and I’m proud of that.

Any closing words?

Séverine: I would just like to urge anyone thinking about printing for their organisation, to think about the impact of that printing, and to contact natura print for a quote to see how easy it is to fulfil all those printing needs with a clear conscience!

A FEW MORE DETAILS ABOUT NATURA PRINT...

Our service can, and should, begin with advice. Our consultants advise clients on the best green options: recycled? FSC? PEFC? Going green is not as simple as it may sound.

Next, we provide a highly efficient quote system. Do you need a quick quote on a straightforward product? With mondofragilis group's online quote interface — MAMA — it's simple and fast. Our offer can include multiple estimates. We can provide you with three bona fide partner bids. Beyond quotes, our service includes complete print project control. Every step of the process is monitored and reported on. You will know exactly where your job is and when you can expect to receive it. And when it comes to printing the actual document, our print managers are there to ensure every job matches the client's expectations.

natura print's print portfolio is vast. Our selection of partners allows us to offer high quality sheet-fed printing as well as quick turnaround digital printing and high-run newsprint output. We also sell a wide range of promotional and informational tools including exhibit stands of all sizes and shapes, promotional and fundraising items and digital media duplication services on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray.

Of course, natura print offers and manages all printing-associated services such as personalised printing, drop shipments, list management and postal mailing.

Our clients are in Kenya, Brazil, Singapore... natura print is international. We print in multiple countries and deliver worldwide. Our clients are global.

In short, beyond price which we all know is important, natura print is a quality guarantee. We check your files before they go to press, do the approval on press and ensure quality control throughout. Our press professionals, some with over twenty years experience, are there to ensure your job is perfect.

Added values

• Environmentally-friendly papers
  • The widest selection of recycled papers
  • The use of FSC - Forest Stewardship Council - certified papers
  • The use of PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification - certified papers
• Vegetable inks with results that surpass petroleum–based inks
• Lamination on solventless machines
• The guarantee that our facilities use approved green practices including the highest recycling standards
• A staffing philosophy that is socially–responsible including gender balance and worker–friendly conditions

Team

natura print's management is dedicated to printing. Séverine Carlier, who heads the natura print team, is herself a seasoned press person having started, literally, on the presses.

Séverine is seconded by a support staff that handle all aspects of the printing process from file management right through to delivery.

Our offer

natura print is a full service broker.

• We print all types of output ranging from the simplest one sheet jobs such as a business card or poster, to a brochure or book or even complex presentation folders.
  • Of note, we are highly experienced at producing comprehensive campaign materials.
• We deliver worldwide and handle transport, custom formalities and multiple destination dispatching.
• We reprint at reduced cost up to two years after the original run.

Papers & Inks

We are committed to using papers and inks that are ranked highest in their respect of the environment. In the case of papers, we offer, in this order:

1. Fully recycled post-consumption stock
2. FSC and PEFC stock made from managed forests or or mill surplus
3. Paper types that are unavailable as recycled or managed-forest papers

We are committed to using inks that come from vegetable sources, such as rapeweed. All our inks are, therefore, biodegradable. We do not use petroleum–based inks.

Facility practices

One can increasingly avoid polluting products. It comes down to choosing suppliers that choose non-polluting products and apply green policies. And if a supplier does not adhere to these standards, it is up to the client or intermediary to tell them so or risk losing ones business. This is our approach. If someone sends us a parcel that is wrapped in non–biodegradable plastic, we tell them.

Here are some of our practices:

• Any products that can be recycled, are recycled.
• We use rags and clean them. We do not use disposable, paper towels.
• We recycle our ink.
• We recycle our empty ink boxes.
• We recycle our printing plates.
• We manage our electricity consumption.
• We engage in due diligence of suppliers to ensure they meet our own strict standards.

Products used for production:

• Our inks are 100% vegetable-based. We use no petroleum–based inks.
• Our machines are cleaned with V60 products that are far less polluting than VM111.
• When we need glue, we use liquid glue instead of spray glue.

Our upcoming improvements:

• 100% use of recycled packing materials (including wrapping sheets)
• 100% use of fair trade materials and products

Decent work

Our staff is our strength. If they are not committed to the highest standards of excellence, there is no way that we can produce high quality output. We know this. natura print pays its staff fair wages. We give them proper medical benefits. And, we aim to build a pleasurable work environment.