What CUSTARD CREATIVE LIMITED does

Custard Creative Limited is a UK-based private limited company operating as a printing.com franchise and providing full-colour printing, graphic design, website development, pre-press bureau services, and integrated print production. Incorporated in 2002 and registered in Northampton (Companies House Reg. No. 4501658, VAT No. 536 6414 40), the company serves a horizontal mix of small-to-medium businesses and individual consumers needing affordable, fast-turnaround marketing collateral, business stationery, invitations, booklets, and promotional items. Its product portfolio is organised into five zones covering business cards and stationery, folders and booklets, leaflets and brochures, invitations and mailers, and ancillary items such as stickers, menus, notepads, and fridge magnets.

The company's production architecture centres on a 30,000 sq ft centralised Production Hub in Manchester, into which it reports £10 million of investment in industrial presses and digital workflow technology, including a £1 million industrial press upgrade. This hub model is claimed to deliver prices up to 77% below the industry average (per a February 2004 independent Storecheckers survey) and operational performance of 99.8% on-time despatch and 98.5% overnight carrier delivery. Supporting pre-press bureau services include Agfa Avantra 30 imagesetting (up to B2 film output at 240 lpi), Minolta-based colour and black-and-white proofing, and PDF creation. Customers submit artwork via a web-based direct upload portal, email, ISDN, phone, fax, or in-person.

Commercially, Custard Creative monetises primarily through catalogue unit pricing on a pay-as-you-go basis, with premium surcharges of 100% for Xpress expedited turnaround and 200% for same-day SOS service, plus tiered delivery surcharges (pre-12 noon +50%, pre-10.30am +100%, Saturday +£10) and a 2% credit-card surcharge. Design and website development services are custom-quoted, and collection is free from local stores or the Manchester Production Hub. Despite the franchise's significant production infrastructure footprint, firmographics list only 1-10 employees at the Custard Creative entity, indicating that production scale is delivered through the shared printing.com network rather than operated independently by this single franchisee.

Name

CUSTARD CREATIVE LIMITED

Legal name

Custard Creative Limited

Website

https://custardcreative.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Custard Creative Limited is a UK-based printing.com franchise providing full-colour printing, graphic design, web development, and bureau services to small businesses and individuals via a centralised 30,000 sq ft Production Hub.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Printing Services

NAICS

Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111), Support Activities for Printing (323120), Graphic Design Services (541430), Printing and Related Support Activities (323)

SIC

Commercial Printing (2750), Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Format & Specialty Printing (Signage, Posters, Displays) (MPAJALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Prepress, Plate-Making & Artwork Services (IMALAKAM)

Keywords

• Digital printing services
• Graphic design services
• Pre-press bureau
• Full colour printing
• Print production services

Headquarters

HQ city

Trimingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Custard Creative Limited is a printing.com franchise that provides affordable full-colour commercial printing services, graphic design, website development, and pre-press bureau services (imagesetting, proofing, PDF creation). The company operates a centralised 30,000 sq ft Production Hub in Manchester with over £10m invested in industrial press technology, serving customers across the UK through local stores, online ordering, and direct delivery with guaranteed turnaround times.

Product overview

CUSTARD CREATIVE LIMITED is a printing.com franchise operator offering a comprehensive full colour printing service through a network of local stores and a centralised 30,000 sq ft Production Hub. The company provides an extensive portfolio of print products including business cards, stationery, presentation folders, booklets, CD/DVD packaging, leaflets, brochures, posters, promotional materials, and marketing collateral. Core printing products span Zone 1 (business cards/stationery), Zone 2 (folders/booklets/CD cases), Zone 3 (leaflets/brochures/showcards/posters), Zone 4 (invitations/mailers/greeting cards), and Zone 5 (stickers/menus/notepads/magnets). Supporting bureau services include imagesetting (film output), proofing, and PDF creation. Additional services encompass graphic design, website development, priority Xpress and Same-day turnaround options, and self-service Direct from Disk file submission. The company has invested over £10 million in production technology including £1 million in new industrial presses, enabling full colour CMYK printing at prices reportedly up to 77% below industry average.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Cards

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.8% of orders despatched on time or early
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Solopress: UK-based online commercial printer offering next-day printing of business cards, flyers, leaflets, brochures, and stationery. Competes head-to-head with Custard Creative on price, turnaround, and product range in the same UK SMB and consumer market.
• Instantprint: UK-based online printer offering short-run, fast-turnaround commercial printing with strong price competitiveness. Overlaps directly with Custard Creative on flyers, leaflets, business cards, and brochures, with a comparable price-leadership positioning.
• DigitalPrinting.co.uk: UK-focused digital printing company serving SMBs with short-run commercial print, business stationery, and marketing collateral. Direct overlap with Custard Creative on customer base, product range, and web-to-print ordering model.
• Printing.com: Franchisor of the printing.com brand under which Custard Creative operates. Runs the same franchise network model and provides the product catalogue, technology platform, and brand standards that Custard Creative executes against. Most directly comparable peer by business model and product mix.
• Printed.com: UK online printer with broad product catalogue including business cards, posters, stationery, and large-format work. Directly comparable in customer base, product set, and online ordering model targeting UK SMBs and consumers.
• Tradeprint: UK trade printer serving resellers and direct SMB customers with commercial print products including business cards, flyers, and large-format work. Comparable product mix and pricing model with a strong online ordering experience targeting the same UK market.

Emerging players

• Pixartprinting: European online printer with a UK presence offering wide-format, commercial print, and merchandise at competitive prices. Comparable on product breadth and online ordering, with stronger digital tooling but lighter local presence in the UK.

Regional players

• Hot Frog: Smaller UK regional print shops serving local SMB customers with commercial printing, design, and stationery services. Comparable end-customer profile to Custard Creative but typically without the centralised hub cost advantage.

Broad incumbents

• Vista Print (Cimpress): Global web-to-print leader (Cimpress/Vista) operating at much greater scale across business cards, marketing materials, and signage. Competes with Custard Creative across virtually every product line but with broader portfolio, deeper digital tooling, and global reach.
• Moo: Premium online print brand known for high-quality business cards, postcards, and marketing materials. Competes with Custard Creative for design-conscious SMB and consumer print buyers, particularly in the business card and stationery categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/custard-creative

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 CUSTARD CREATIVE LIMITED