Abacus (Colour Printers) Ltd

This blog has moved

2010-03-18T14:58:00.001Z

This blog is now located at http://blog.abacusprinters.co.uk/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://blog.abacusprinters.co.uk/feeds/posts/default.

A full range of Thangkas- Andy Weber

2010-03-18T12:07:00.003Z

The sewing machine has been busy mounting Andy Weber's full range of 12 giclee canvas prints into silk brocade surrounds which have been manufactured in Nepal.

Wow don't they look good! The rich textured silk fabric of the traditional Thangkas perfectly compliments the vivid giclee prints of Andy Weber's paintings. These are available from the Dharma shop on Andy's new online shop.

The giclee prints include Amitaba Buddha, 1000-Armed Avalokitsvara, Chenrezig (4 arms), Green Tara, Manjushri, Medicine Buddha, Pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, Prajnaparamita, Shakyamuni Buddha, Vajrayogini, White Tara and Yamantaka. These are all currently available in an A4 size image, with surrounding silk brocade with some of them also available in a larger A3 size.

Andy's new on-line shop has excellent facilities to enlarge the images to view them in their full splendour. It has the whole collection of Andy Weber's Fine Art Reproductions, Limited Edition Giclee prints, posters and cards. All are printed here, the majority by waterless offset, at Abacus Colour Printers.

www.andyweberstudios.com

Fine Art Limited Edition Reproduction aids RNLI fund raising.

2010-03-17T11:24:00.001Z

Phil Weeks recently placed an order for 200 Fine Art Limited Edition Reproductions of his original painting of the RNLI lifeboat 44-004,Passing South Stack, Holyhead, Anglesey. This painting was exhibited at the 2009 Society of Marine Artists exhibition.

The original was painted in gouache on a peelable board so we were able to scan it here at Abacus. Originals need to be flexible to bend around the cylinder on our high end drum scanner. This in-house scanning enables the best possible rendition of originals which is the crucial starting point for accurate printing of Fine Art Reproductions.

All printing on the Komori press in four colours is by Waterless Offset. The Magenta and Yellow printing inks are very special as they contain lightfast pigment and compliment the standard Cyan and Black inks which are already very permanent. These inks enable the Fine Art Reproductions we print to conform to the exacting standards of the Fine Art Trade Guild. In order to remain a print member of the F.A.T.G. a print has to be sent for independent evaluation of its lightfastness - a test we have passed for the last 20 years.

All Fine Art Reproductions are printed on 300gsm paper which has been accredited as fulfilling ISO9706 for permanence.

Abacus has been specialising in printing Fine Art Reproductions for artists and publishers for over two decades. Five years ago this was expanded to include Giclee printing in a dedicated studio. Abacus now offers the most comprehensive variety of options for printing long or short runs of large or small images of Fine Art Limited Edition Reproductions.

Philip Weeks can be contacted by email: philweeks@fsmail.net

HOXA TAPESTRY GALLERY ORKNEY

2010-03-12T15:25:00.002Z

Leila Thompson is a Tapestry artist residing in the Scottish Orkney Islands.From her base at the Hoxa Tapestry gallery,St Margarets Hope, Leila designs and makes her beautiful original works of art.Her materials are mainly Shetland wool,Swedish linen and American cotton and a variety of other materials she likes to experiment with.She is currently so successful that there is a 2-3 year waiting list for her original works,which can take up to 4 months to complete.
The gallery was purpose built to house Leilas large works and give her room for her creativity.
Leila was born on Orkney and graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1980 with a 1st class honours degree.
Here at Abacus we have regularly printed a range of posters,greetings cards and postcards for her. Leila takes advantage of the full card sheet rates we offer to give the minimum unit cost, therefore maximum profit margins. By mixing different sizes of greetings cards and postcards there is no waste space on any of the larger SRA2 sheets for this canny scotch lassie.
Leilas work can be viewed on her excellent website www.hoxatapestrygallery.co.uk The postcards,greetings cards and posters are available exclusively from her gallery.

Full sheets of cards for Joyce Watson of Beannachd Cards

2010-03-10T11:33:00.002Z

Joyce has recently taken the opportunity to place an order for a whole range of postcards,greetings cards, bookmarks and mini cards. Here at Abacus we were able to fill the large SRA2 sheet economically by mixing both postcards and greetings cards on the same sheet leaving no empty waste space.

Abacus offers this flexibility in relation to full sheets to enable clients to maximise the available spaces. We at Abacus are not rigid in our sheet layouts and will guide you to what is and what is not possible on these SRA2 sheets. Your financial success is our success as further orders will inevitably follow.

With previous orders Joyce has sent in her own scans originated on her own desktop scanner, but having not been entirely happy with cards originated in this way, this year she left the scanning to Abacus. [A route we always recommend as the final print quality is only as good as the origination].

We at Abacus were delighted to ensure the scans from our very expensive drum scanner met her approval by submitting press profiled digital proofs for her to see before printing. On receiving this approval the postcards, greetings cards, bookmarks and mini cards were printed, cut, scored packed and despatched to her base in the Isle of Iona.

Joyce chose a matt finish to completely seal the colour front side of the cards.When ordering a full card sheet there are several options available for a range of finishes, such as gloss or matt lamination, gloss sealer, spot varnish,or very matt sealer, all of which are undertaken in house[some involve extra costs].

Spot UV varnish is yet another option but this involves significant additional costs as it is only available from a company based in Yorkshire.

Full Card sheets of Postcards

2010-03-05T14:43:00.002Z

The most efficient way to print postcards at a economic unit cost is to fill a fullcard sheet.
The sheet size we print on is SRA2 a sheet measuring 640 x 450mm, which can accommodate 16 standard postcards.
Turtle photography have been taking advantage of this cost effective waterless printing of postcards for several years www.turtlephotography.co.uk
Turtle Photography based in their gallery within The Craft Centre, Abersoch, not only offer for sale postcards but a full range of photographic photo prints, all based on the beautiful local seascapes.
Their full sheet of postcards are spot UV varnished on the image area of the postcard only. This very shiny varnish really brings up the colours in their vivid photographic postcards, and is a dramatic contrast to the white silky 380gsm Abacus card.
Special finishes like this are only available on full card sheets specific to an individual client. These full card sheets can also include greetings cards and Christmas cards.
In every case of full card sheet printing the run on price of each additional 1000 sheets dramatically reduces the unit cost of the postcards or greetings cards. Here at Abacus we have some clients who print up to 14000 sheets of cards to successfully achieve a minimum unit cost to wholsale at realistic profitable margins to the retail trade.
Special estimates are available for full card sheet printing from sales@abacusprinters.co.uk.

An interesting new Giclee line for Andy Weber

2010-02-18T09:49:00.002Z

World renown internationally, as one of the worlds leading artists in Buddhist iconography, Andy is returning to Buddhist routes.
By printing his images on canvas by Giclee printing it is giving the work a robustness to roll up. Why the need to roll? Andy's most recent idea is to recreate traditional Buddhist Tangkhas which are sewn into a brocade specially made by local craftsman in Kathmandu, Nepal.The completed pieces including a wooden scroll, and saffron protective curtain is a contemporary rendition of traditional Buddhist Tangkhas. The whole Tangkha rolls around the scroll for ease of transportation so important to nomadic Buddhists.
We at Abacus are happy to welcome and help expand the many opportunities Giclee printing offers.
Andy Weber’s Tangkhas are an unusual departure from the norm, especially as they are returning funds to craftsmen in Kathmandu. These ten new contemporary Tangkhas will offer ten different Giclee prints of Andy's paintings and are available to be seen on his web site www.andyweberstudios.com and will be available online or from the many buddhist events he attends.
These Tangkhas are quite beautiful, and really must be seen to be fully appreciated.

FEBRUARY SPECIAL OFFER

2010-02-12T14:38:00.002Z

For February we are offering a choice of two fantastic offers.

Order any size of postcard or greetings card before 28th February 2010 and you can choose one the following offers:

500 free business cards 85 x55mm (worth £65.00) in addition to the card you are having printed. The same image must be used, but you can have different text on the reverse of the business card.

OR

FREE colour and text proof with any card order which is a saving of at least £15

For full details of prices have a look at our “special offer” page, all prices and information can be found on our postcard and greetings card pages.

Don't delay get your postcards and greetings cards printed to the highest quality.

We can also send you our free sample pack with examples of our high quality printing on 380gsm sustainable card as well as the finishes that are available. Just phone 01229 885 361 or email us at sales@abacusprinters.co.uk and we will pop one in the post for you today!

As well as the February special offers we also are running a STUDENT SPECIAL OFFER Prices have been reduced for 2010 and new this year you can order as an individual - no need to be a part of a large group.

Lowest prices ever and a free card for large groups. 500 matt 6x4 postcards will cost only £45.00 per student as long as 16 students join to make a group order.
We also for the first time have made a student special offer for small groups and individuals 500 matt 6x4 postcards cost from only £65.00 per student. Please check our student offer pages for details. Alternatively phone or email with any enquiries as we are always happy to help you.

Keep an eye out for our online design facility which is now in the last stages of being thoroughly tested and it should be ready to be put onto our website soon! We will have a special offer linked to our online design, so please keep checking our special offers pages as you don't want to miss out!

New Giclee Prints

2010-02-09T14:33:00.002Z

Andy Weber (www.andyweberstudios.co.uk) is back again at Abacus to have his most recent painting Avalokitsvara set up as a Giclee print for a limited edition. This flexible original painting is first scanned on our drum scanner. Why? Simply because drum scanners which are very expensive pieces of equipment, produce the finest, most accurate digital colour separations of the original painting. This is the best possible starting point from which all Giclee prints should originate as every nuance of every colour and tone is held - detail of which is not obtained as accurately by digital photography.
Once the scans are sent to Sarah, our dedicated Giclee artist, they are colour corrected against the original and a proof is printed on our Mutoh printer with pigmented inks.
Andy then returns to our Giclee studio to pass the printed Giclee proof against his original painting. Only then can the edition of prints be printed from the stored digital file.
Andy usually has a few Giclee prints initially printed, returning when the Giclee prints are sold to replenish his stock. This means he does not have to store large quantities of prints and of course there is no large financial outlay.
Andy’s entire Giclee print collection can be viewed on his new website www.andyweberstudios.com.
together with his extensive range of postcards, all can be ordered online.

NEW STUDENT SPECIAL OFFER

2010-01-22T14:13:00.003Z

The time of year is rapidly approaching when all final year students are concluding details for their degree shows. For the majority of students this will be their first exposure to the public eye. It is very important that a professional, lasting impression is made and we are here to help them make it.

We have developed a special offer taking into account student’s lack of funds and our experience in the art field. Also waterless offset printing, almost unique to Abacus, is the most environmentally ‘green’ printing media available today. We are offering all our expertise but at a greatly reduced cost to help them with the first steps towards a successful career. For many years we have offered prices for large group printing and this year we are delighted to announce that we have also cut prices for small groups and individual orders. Please refer to the “Student Offer” page or phone / email us for full details.

Some colleges prefer a folder of cards, a bound booklet or catalogue rather than individual cards, or indeed posters. Please feel free to contact us on sales@abacusprinters as we can quote the most cost effective package for individual and group students requirements, free sample packs are available on request.

We look forward to helping you with your college print needs for 2010. We’re here to help!

Snow Snow Snow ......

2010-01-07T13:31:00.004Z

its all you hear about on the news. We have been having snow since before Christmas and its fabulous. The trees sparkle and the ground crunches under your feet. Everything looks lovely and clean, all the fields are white. The kids have made snow men and been sledging. Lots of adults have done the same and not many have managed to escape a snow ball fight. We have very little snow forecast for the next week but with the really low temperatures the snow is not going anywhere for the next few days anyway.

I am from South Africa so love the snow more than anyone else at Abacus as its a novelty to me. Minus 11 at six o Clock this morning the coldest I have ever been in my life. Today I got dressed warm and my colleagues took me sledging for the first time ever. What good fun!! These pictures show Judith our guillotine operator, Margaret one of the directors and me the Giclee printer enjoying the snow! I hope everyone has managed to take some time to enjoy the snow as much as we have.

If you would like to put any of your snow photos into print we have a January special offer of free proofs with any order. We have already received an order from Alison Connick to print greetings cards of sledging on Wimbledon Common.

JANUARY SPECIAL OFFER

2010-01-06T15:17:00.002Z

Everywhere has a January sale and we at Abacus Colour Printers have a special offer too.

Our January special offer is on any size of postcard and greeting card orders.

Order any size of postcard or greetings card before 31 January 2010 and a COLOUR AND TEXT PROOF will be included FREE OF CHARGE.

Amazing value, for example only £99.88 (fully inclusive of delivery & VAT) for 500 6" x 4" matt postcards with FREE COLOUR AND TEXT PROOF. You Save £17.63

For full details of prices have a look at our special offer page, all prices and information can be found on our postcard and greetings card pages.

Don't delay get your postcards and greetings cards printed to the highest quality.

We can also send you our free sample pack with examples of our high quality printing on 380gsm sustainable as well as the finishes that are available. Just phone 01229 885 361 or email us at sales@abacusprinters.co.uk and we will pop one in the post for you today!

Happy New year and the start of a new decade!!

2010-01-05T11:27:00.002Z

2010 what will it bring? We are fully open after the Christmas break. The Komori printing press has been taken to bits, cleaned and serviced and put back again. In order to maintain the high standard of our printing we take the press apart every festive season and give it a good clean and service. Just like owning a car the machine needs an annual service. This involves resetting the rollers settings in order to keep consistent ink levels, replacing any worn bearings, checking the pressures are correct. replacing any other worn parts,and an oil change.The engineer who undertakes this for us says we are his only clients who annually service their press the rest just wait for it to break down.This is indicative as to why the printing at Abacus is consistently of a standard that others envy-- attention to detail.

Just as with a car service the oil is changed. All general housekeeping can be done as the printer is taken apart all the parts that are hard to clean and maintain normally get checked and thoroughly cleaned.

This annual service helps us run a reliable machine with minimal breakdowns and keeps the machine working at its best for many years. In turn this is just another way of making sure we are providing the highest quality print available.

Good Karma in the Giclee studio

2009-12-01T12:10:00.002Z

Picasso at one end of the studio and 1008 Armed Avalokistvara giving us good Karma at the other end. This limited edition Giclee print is reproduced from a limited edition painting by Andy Weber one of the worlds leading artists in Buddhist art. www.andyweberstudios.com. Andy has just returned from a month in Australia where he exhibited his work and taught several classes. As his original paintings sell worldwide for several thousands pounds, these Giclee prints therefore offer a cost effective option to a wider audience. Not only that but his limited edition Giclee prints are now generating more income per painting than the original work!

Andy now has all his paintings scanned and the initial set up Giclee print approved to enable the original painting to be sold. This then enables Andy to print to approved proofs any time in the future and offers optimum flexibility.

These Giclee prints are now available online via his online shop, together with a comprehensive range of postcards.

Andy continues to be delighted with the quality and permanence of his Limited Edition Giclee prints. The print in the Giclee studio has hung for 5 years in quite intense light [under a sky light] with little change. We use it to monitor the lightfastness of the pigmented inks by comparing it to a print run at the same time yet stored in a dark draw --- there is today no visual difference between the two prints.

Each year we submit a print for lightfastness evaluation to an independent lab. Each year we send the successful results to the Fine Art Trade Guild to continue to be one of their approved printers.

Judy Boyes - Lakeland Artist

2009-11-27T11:31:00.003Z

Judy Boyes, Lakeland’s leading watercolour artist has just placed an order for a print run of Fine Art Limited Edition Reproductions of her new paintings. These flexible paintings are being scanned on our drum scanner for optimum print quality.
Judy has printed here at Abacus for a couple of decades not only a comprehensive range of Fine Art Reproductions but also Giclee prints, postcards, greetings cards and brochures for her gallery.
Judy's gallery is situated in the lakeland village of Elterwater, near Langdale and offers a comprehensive collection of her prints.These are available loose,mounted or framed from the gallery or mail order. Her entire collection is also available on-line at www.judyboyes.co.uk.
Judy's prints are all printed to the exacting standards of The Fine Art Trade Guild of which Abacus is a print member. This involves an annual print test to ensure lightfastness of the special inks used solely for Fine Art Reproductions,a test which Abacus has consistently passed for the last 22 years.
Living locally to our print studio, Judy and her husband John always come and pass her new prints on the Komori printing press. This gives Judy the opportunity to fine tune the prints to her very exacting eye.
These new prints will be available before Christmas both on-line and in her gallery.

The artwork as it arrives at Abacus.

The artwork on the drum ready to be scanned.

The artwork being scanned By Danny, ready to be proofed then printed.

Jenny Jowett - Botanical Artist FSBA/PSFP

2009-11-26T13:19:00.002Z

Jenny Jowett is a long standing client of Abacus (Colour Printers) Ltd. Interestingly Jenny used to be in printing and is very knowledgeable on this subject. We at Abacus always welcome her botanical watercolour paintings, as her tolerance of quality printing is so exacting. If a flower is slightly off colour and tone it can be another variety! Over the years we have printed Fine Art Reproductions, greetings cards and postcards of her beautiful flower paintings, more recently we have been printing Giclee prints of her seasons paintings, 12 pictures depicting the months of the year.

Jenny will be exhibiting her original paintings from the 6th of November 2009 at the said Business School Gallery in Oxford's University’s Botanical Gardens. Her exhibition includes not only botanical paintings but also landscapes of the UK and abroad. We always look forward to Jenny's new paintings, from which we scan directly on our state of the art drum scanner. This scanning ensures optimum print quality which enables Jenny to place orders with total confidence.

Keep checking it will be here soon!

2009-11-25T14:53:00.003Z

We are struggling to get the online ordering opportunity finished. There is so much fine tuning to do as every aspect of postcard, greetings card and Christmas card ordering online has to be 100%.
When we do finally complete this you will be able to order and pay for printing of cards entirely on the internet and pay by the secure “google check out”.

This opportunity will be entirely PDF based. Your photos may now only exist as JPEGS and TIFFS, but lots of free photo editing programmes will allow you to instantly change from a JPEG to a PDF.

We see this convenient opportunity as the way forward for our existing client as well as many new ones. In 2010 we will also complete the Abacus Online designer which will encourage you to place your picture within the templates and submit the order online - so far this has taken two years of design time but is - I’m confidently told by the designers - very near completion!

However, we at Abacus will still be delighted to receive orders via the post, including original paintings to scan. Don't forget we are always here to help with any aspect of your order.

The online facility will only be for postcards, greetings cards, business cards and Christmas cards. For fine art reproductions, card catalogues, calendars and large card orders, full card sheets, Giclee prints, all of which require very large files, the existing ordering route is required.
We look forward to entering a new decade of card printing offering you additional ordering convenience.

Watch “the kettles on” for special offers on online ordering when we go live, as we need your input to tell us how you find this opportunity.

FLOODS

2009-11-24T16:11:00.002Z

Thank you to everyone who has sent good wishes, and has asked how we all are in the floods! We are all well and thank goodness no one At Abacus has had their home taken from them.

The Lowick House Garden flood

Here are some pictures of John rescuing his pigs as the Crake river burst its banks. All pigs are well and rehoused on higher ground!! After John rescued his pigs the water rose another meter.

The water has subsided now and this is what is left... Although more heavy rain is forecast.

Christmas Cards, we still have time to print them for you.

2009-11-16T13:45:00.003Z

Yes its not too late to place your orders for Christmas cards to send out this year.
We at Abacus work hard ensuring even the latest order arrives in time for the Christmas postal rush. But the emphasis is on you to get your 'finger out' as the sooner the order is received the cheaper is the cost [reduced rate v standard rate]
Here at Abacus we have already printed our Christmas card which is full colour two sided and is today awaiting cutting and scoring. This Christmas card features the work of John Sutcliffe the managing director and will remain a secret until it arrives in the post. If you are not yet an Abacus customer and wish to receive a copy of this limited edition Christmas card just email in your full postal address and one will be posted to you.
We print Christmas Cards for the whole gamut of clients from individuals, families, churches, companies, firms, vets, dentists, breed societies, etc etc .
Christmas cards still have a vital place in our society to say your not forgotten to old friends, raise money for charity, let customers know they are appreciated, raise awareness of a breed or to wish everyone well for the New Year [to name but a few].
As specialist card printers we at Abacus are waiting to be of assistance with your Christmas card order, but please do hurry as December is just a few days away.

This and other images can be found on David Briggs e commerce website at www.davidbriggsphoto.co.uk

Can Saddleback pigs swim? Or just look pretty on postcards?

2009-11-13T15:40:00.003Z

They may need to if we get any more downpours like those experienced lately. For two consecutive weekends the monsoons have left the village of Lowick marooned. The local pubs pool table was floating around and the flood water was so deep the pub is closed for 2 months. There was so much water on the roads with all the autumnal leaves blocking the drains and the gaps in the dry stone walls that floods were up to 3 ft deep- impassable!
But did the Saddleback pigs need to swim? Fortunately not as all their arks are situated on the highest ground, but the mud is now so deep that they do need welly boots!! However the floods did wash out two of the pens inside my buildings and the slurry pit filled overnight.
Copious amounts of straw has been added to the arks so the saddlebacks have warm dry beds to sleep in. The highest placed arks were muddy inside as a months rain fell in 4 hours. Even saddlebacks hate rain and are not keen on deep cold mud so they now spend most of the days cuddling up together in their arks.
What of Jack the Saddleback boar experiencing manhood for the first time? Last week we swapped him for a new Vicount boar who knows his job. Unfortunately several of the gilts Saddleback Jack has had the opportunity of serving have returned to the Vicount boar which is really disappointing. Jack is now running with 5 young saddleback gilts vacated by the Vicount boar all of which should be in pig. It just goes to show that young boars can be a problem and are not guaranteed to do their job, in fact a lady from Ireland has a young boar who is totally uninterested in the Saddleback girls.
More rain is forecast-- and I have bought some more waterproofs!
What relevance is all this piggy talk to postcard printing you may ask?
Well Abacus prints Saddleback postcards for all the butchers who sell the Saddleback pork and promotional A4 sheets to distribute at the agricultural shows around the country.

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR PACKS YOUR POSTCARD - ABACUS GETS GREENER

2009-11-11T15:01:00.002Z

To continue with our ‘green’ ethos to reduce the amount of packaging, the weight and therefore the cost, all our packaging infill is now air!

Yes we have a new machine that blows pure Lakeland air into plastic sausages. These are used to pack carefully around your printed card order to ensure they arrive in perfect condition.

We have different size air sausages (not to be eaten on arrival!) to ensure greetings cards, postcards as well as giclee prints arrive safely.

Helen is in charge of packing and is now a dab hand with the sausage machine - she also likes real rare breed pork sausages. It was National Sausage Week last week promoted by the British Sausage Appreciation Society in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
www.sausageweek.co.uk Check it out for new sausage recipes, bangers, rockets and fire works. Once again Guy Fawkes has passed with out incident although my sheep dog was so frightened by all the banging she was found hiding behind the u bend in the toilet!

Now back to real sausages - the true Cumberland sausage. My pigs www.saddlebackpigs.co.uk have been used to make award winning Cumberland sausage made by Aireys Butchers.

Air sausages, bangers, Aireys butchers - it must be a crazy week - whats next...

Abacus Online is coming soon!

Picasso watches over the Giclee department

2009-11-10T16:44:00.002Z

Way back in the early 1970’s when I was a student at the Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford University, Picasso was my God. As all gods have eventually to go to heaven I painted a small diptych of Picasso at the gates of heaven with one of his earlier wives and his beloved dog.
This diptych has remained unframed as one of my few surviving paintings of this period. It still stands today in the old barn’s ventilation hole (now blocked up in the Giclee studio) as a testimony to the artistic endeavours still prevailing in the gilcee department. To quote Picasso “I do not search I find”
I hope your searches over the internet have found this nonesense, required by modern search engines, to be be entertaining and informative.
I often look at the diptych and try to imagine just what Picasso would make of the creative opportunities offered by giclee printing. Given a computer programme and canvas on the printing machine, what might this great artist have produced?

Giclee printing is primarily to reproduce other media such as oil paintings, pastels and water colours. Too few artists use it as a creative media in its own right.

We at Abacus offer open studio facilities to creative artists to print up to 64 inches wide - on rolls up to 12 meters long. This continues our ethos of using print as a creative media in its own right not just one of reproduction.

Now you have found us, stick with us, we look forward to you order - seek no more!

The Final score Postcards 10 Emails 3

2009-11-06T15:36:00.002Z

The old postcard verses email debate. The postal strike is not helping - but when postcards are received, or a greetings card is sent the message remains for a long time. Not so over the internet when an email if opened if read is quickly forgotten. Hence the longevity of a postcard far outweighs that of the email.

We here at Abacus (Colour Printers) Ltd, have been specialising in printing the most beautiful postcards and greetings cards from well over twenty years

Our Managing Director John Sutcliffe, trained as an artist at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford, worked directly with artists for 10 years.

At his workshop in Lowick he printed limited edition lithographs, etchings and screenprints by hand.
This artistic start grew organically into Abacus (Colour Printers) Ltd, over 21years ago. From this humble artistic beginning this meagre printing service for the artistic community developed. Abacus (Colour Printers) Ltd, now offer the most comprehensive range of shapes sizes and finishes of postcards, greetings cards, Christmas cards, fine art reproductions and Giclee prints to our nationwide clientele. Quality is always the key to the continuing success of Abacus.

Watch this space as the Abacus Online ordering opportunity is almost ready. You can order all your cards online very soon.

Tourist trade is booming in England - Get your prints, postcards and greetings cards made and cash in while the cash is here

2009-10-06T13:12:00.002+01:00

With our economy being the way it is, many people have decided to stay in England for the 2009 holidays. Business everywhere is booming and expanding top notch hotels to campsites around the country and especially around us in the beautiful Lake District. While everyone is exploring the beauties that our own country has to offer. Now is the perfect opportunity to make some limited edition prints, postcards and greetings cards, calendars, brochures and posters - you name it we can print it!

Let’s celebrate the beautiful countryside we have and its diversity and give all the tourists something to take away with them to adorn their homes or send to loved ones - a reminder of what a beautiful country we live in.

500 6 x 4 matt postcards will cost £75.00 + postage and packing and + vat. 500 6 x 4 Greetings cards will cost £125.00 + postage and packing and +vat. So don't delay get your cards printed show off our beautiful countryside and take advantage of our very own tourist market.

We offer a comprehensive price list of our printing range and also offer a bespoke quoting service for your unique printing requirements. Just email: sales@abacusprinters.co.uk and we will estimate immediately.

Save money and get your Christmas cards printed NOW

2009-10-02T10:14:00.002+01:00

We survived yet another six weeks of summer holidays and regained some sort of normality. Dare I say it, time to get ready for the next hurdle - Christmas - Ahhhh!!

We offer personalised Christmas cards. Last year we printed more family photo Christmas cards than most years. I think that trend of personal Christmas cards will carry on into this year. So get your family photo ready and send us your order now as our prices work on the more time we have the cheaper it is to print your cards.

It is really easy to order your Christmas cards with us all you need to do is go to our “how to order page” on our website and follow the order on line instructions. We are happy for you to email us your photos. We can also scan in your photographs or transparencies as we always have done in the past.

We print small print runs of 500, suitable for your Christmas cards and offer a text deletion on the inside of your card. By removing your Christmas greeting after so many you can use the blank cards for any occasion.

500 6 x 4 greetings cards with your own picture on will cost £125.00 + postage & packing and + vat.
500 7 x 5 greetings cards with you own picture on will cost £205.00 + postage & packing and + vat.
500 6 x 6 greetings cards with your own picture on will cost £205.00 + postage & packing +vat.
500 8 x 6 greetings cards with your own picture on will cost £250.00 + postage & packing + vat.

We also supply envelopes and offer many discounts for multiple orders

By taking advantage of our ‘reduced rate’ which takes a little longer to produce, major discounts are available - so plan ahead and save yourself lots of money.