Making a good impression

Andrzej Wróbel: Why did you set up the firm seven years ago?

Tadeusz Winkowski: We had an idea and we were determined to realize it. At the time, it was unthinkable that foreign publishers would agree to print their books or magazines in Poland. Polish printing had a very bad reputation. The same went for Poland in general. It is still not a very good reputation but it is changing and we are a part of these changes. We have managed to attract a great number of customers and even if they are not our clients they are clients of the Polish printing market. There is a huge increase in the level of printing-service exports from Poland to the rest of the EU.

What is your specialty?

We print a lot of multilingual publications. All the biggest Polish publishing houses work with us and our biggest market share abroad is in Sweden. We opened our first agency there five years ago, but we export to 24 countries. Cooperation with publishers takes a lot of time. We need to break the perception that they have no influence on the printing process if it takes place in a remote place.

You also operate on the German market ...

It was very difficult to enter the German market. We still print for non-German publishers in Germany only. It is the most mentally closed country with the greatest potential. Our advantage is that we were the front-runners on the Polish market.

In which areas?

We introduced many innovations. We were the first to print a weekly magazine that was sent over to us electronically 10 years ago from Warsaw to Piła. We were the first to pass on the data digitally. In 1999 we implemented computer-to-plate offset technology, which streamlined the production process. We bought a modern line for glue binding (the MM Corona) and we were the first in Poland to use the Sunday M4000 offset machine. We were also the first to send magazines to subscribers directly from the printing house. All this has definitely helped us attract customers from abroad. Now we can offer them much more than their local printing houses.

What help does the Polish Chamber of Printing offer?

It has become active again since Robert Musiał was elected president. It does a lot to promote the Polish printing industry in Europe and to help acquire new contacts, especially for smaller printing houses.

What are the trends in the printing industry in Poland and Europe in general?

Everybody is concentrating on all the areas that need high technology processing, for instance hardback covers and packages. In the West, publishers are halting their printing activities. It is very expensive and publishers prefer to invest in new titles, rather than in machinery.