Empress

What Empress does

Empress (legal name Empress Litho Ltd, also trading as Empress Media) is a London-based, full-service commercial printing company founded in 1987. It operates a single London factory at Dockyard Industrial Estate, Woolwich Church Street (SE18 5PQ), delivering reprographics, offset lithography, digital, and inkjet printing alongside an extensive in-house finishing and binding suite that includes cutting, folding, saddle stitching, perfect binding, thread sewing, hardback books, laminating, die cutting, foil blocking, embossing/debossing, hand finishing, spine-lining, flexi-cover books, case making, and mailing/distribution. The business is positioned as a consultative, in-house end-to-end producer rather than a transactional print supplier, with a team of experienced craftspeople handling artwork preparation, color management, and proofing through to delivery.

Empress serves a horizontal customer base spanning creative agencies and design studios, corporate clients, publishers, cultural institutions (museums, galleries, festivals), luxury hospitality brands, and self-publishers. Named enterprise clients include the British Museum, Belmond, Burberry, Macallan, Google, Brentford FC, the British Council, UAL, Cambridge School of Art, Informa, Film4, London Design Festival, and London Design Biennale. The go-to-market is direct, relationship-driven sales with long-standing creative-agency partnerships and a project-based, quote-by-job pricing model; marketing is primarily word-of-mouth and portfolio-driven, supplemented by a website portfolio and organic social presence on Twitter and Instagram. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries, and it holds Cyber Essentials and GDPR-compliance certifications.

Name

Empress

Legal name

Empress Litho Ltd

Website

https://empresslitho.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Empress is a London-based, full-service litho, digital, and inkjet printing company that delivers end-to-end in-house production from reprographics through finishing and binding. It serves creative agencies, publishers, corporate clients, and cultural institutions with project-based, premium-quality print work.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Commercial Printing Services: The company generates revenue through providing specialist litho and digital printing services to creative agencies, publishers, corporate clients, and cultural institutions. Services are priced per job based on complexity, print process, finishing requirements, and volume.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Empress is a London-based full-service printing company that produces commercial litho, digital, and inkjet printed materials end-to-end. It combines reprographics, multi-process printing, and comprehensive in-house finishing and binding into a single integrated production service for creative agencies, publishers, corporate clients, cultural institutions, and self-publishers.

Product overview

Empress is a specialist litho and digital printing company based in London with over 30 years of experience. The company offers a comprehensive suite of printing services organized into three main product areas: Reprographics (artwork preparation, proofing, colour management, scanning), Printing (offset litho, digital, and inkjet), and Finishing (binding, cutting, laminating, foil blocking, embossing, mailing, and distribution). All services are delivered from their London factory with in-house capabilities, providing end-to-end control from initial artwork through to finished printed product and delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Reprographics Services Artwork preparation and optimization services including digital proofing, machine proofing, CMYK colour management, output profiling, retouching, prototyping, preflight checks, and scanning, delivered in-house as the first stage of Empress's integrated print production workflow for creative agencies, publishers, and corporate clients.
• Printing Services Commercial printing offering offset litho, digital, and inkjet printing processes, with objective guidance on selecting the right method for each job based on volume, substrate, and finish requirements.
• Finishing Services Comprehensive in-house post-press finishing including cutting, folding, saddle stitching, perfect binding, thread sewing, hardbacked books, laminating, die cutting, foil blocking, embossing/debossing, hand finishing, spine-lining, flexi-cover books, case making, mailing, and distribution.

Quantifiable outcome

• Award-winning print quality recognized by industry
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• MOO: An online premium print brand focused on business stationery, marketing collateral, and short-run premium products for SMBs and creative agencies. Comparable to Empress on the premium-quality axis and shared customer pool of creative agencies, but with a digital-first delivery model rather than bespoke in-house finishing.
• Blurb: An online print-on-demand platform specializing in photo books, trade books, and magazines for self-publishers and creators. Comparable to Empress through its book-printing capability and overlap with Empress's self-publisher segment, though it competes via digital tooling rather than craft finishing.

Direct peers

• Park Communications: A London-based premium commercial printer serving creative agencies, brands, and cultural clients with litho and digital services plus comprehensive finishing. Closely comparable to Empress in geographic focus, customer mix, and craft-led positioning.
• Bell & Bain: A long-established UK book printer specializing in hardback and case-bound printing for publishers. Comparable to Empress on book-printing services, expertise, and the publisher-focused segment of Empress's customer mix.
• Clays: One of the UK's largest book printers, producing hardback and paperback titles for major publishers. Directly comparable to Empress on the book printing axis (where Empress won Printweek Book Printer of the Year 2026), though at a significantly larger scale.
• Pureprint Group: A UK commercial printing group offering litho and digital print with in-house finishing for publishers, agencies, and corporate clients. Comparable to Empress in its commercial-print service model and premium client focus.
• Oriel Printing: A London-based commercial printer offering litho, digital, and finishing services to publishers, agencies, and corporate clients. Closely matches Empress's service breadth and premium London-based positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/empresslitho
• Instagraminstagram.com/empress.london

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Empress