What CAXTON - Design & Print Excellence does

Caxton Design & Print Excellence is a privately held, Christchurch-based commercial printing company founded in the early 1930s (90+ years of operation, celebrating its 90th anniversary in January 2025). It provides a full-service design-to-delivery print offering spanning offset printing (Komori A2/A1 sheet-fed presses), digital printing (two Fuji Xerox Iridesse presses with metallic, white, clear and fluoro pink toner capability), wide format signage (Acuity UV flatbed and eco-solvent printers), fine art Giclée reproduction, graphic design, book binding, packaging, labels, promotional products, calendars, and architectural drawing scanning/printing. The production footprint is a single purpose-built facility at 32 Lodestar Avenue, Wigram, Christchurch, where the company relocated in 2014 after the 2010-2011 Christchurch earthquakes damaged its prior Victoria Street premises.

The business serves a diversified New Zealand customer base across enterprise (e.g., Wattie's, Pure Packaging, Ethique, Luisetti, The Court Theatre), SMB (Lucky Luke Cider), non-profit, local government, and individual consumer segments, with sister brands Printabook (self-publishing), JamJar (photobooks), and Digitalprint extending the addressable market. Revenue is generated primarily through quote-based project work across one-time print jobs, professional design services, and managed print management engagements, with a direct sales team organised by territory (Christchurch, South Canterbury, Otago, Southland) and supported by an e-commerce quote-request funnel.

Caxton is owned and led by Managing Director Bridget Batchelor (since 2016, 32 years in the industry), backed by a leadership team with decades of tenure. The company maintains a 27+ year technology partnership with Fuji Xerox New Zealand and a core partnership with Fujifilm for pre-press innovation (process-less platesetter installed June 2024), and has accumulated multiple Pride in Print Awards including the 1998 New Zealand Supreme Print Award. The company remains privately held with no disclosed institutional investment, no parent company, and no subsidiaries, operating as a bootstrapped, founder/management-owned printing services business.

Name

CAXTON - Design & Print Excellence

Legal name

Caxton Design & Print Excellence

Website

https://caxton.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Caxton Design & Print Excellence is a privately held Christchurch-based commercial printer, founded in the 1930s, offering offset, digital, wide-format, and fine-art printing plus design services to New Zealand enterprise, SMB, government, and consumer customers via direct sales and sub-brand e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Christchurch

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Commercial Printing Services: Caxton generates revenue primarily through commercial printing services including offset printing, digital printing, wide format printing, and fine art reproduction. Services are priced per project based on specifications (quantity, size, colours, paper stock, finishing options).
2. Graphic Design Services: In-house graphic design studio providing branding, marketing campaign design, brochure and poster design services. Professional services revenue stream.
3. Printed Products (Calendars, Books): Direct sales of printed products including calendars, photobooks, and promotional items through e-commerce platform.
4. Print Management: Comprehensive print management services for businesses, handling everything from design through to production and delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Caxton is a Christchurch-based design and print company offering commercial offset printing, digital printing, wide format printing, and fine art Giclée reproduction. The firm delivers end-to-end services from in-house graphic design through to finished offset, digital, signage, packaging, labels, calendars, books and promotional products for New Zealand businesses and select consumer self-publishing customers.

Product overview

CAXTON - Design & Print Excellence is a commercial printing company offering a comprehensive suite of print products and services. The portfolio centres on offset printing (using A2 and A1 Komori sheet-fed presses), digital printing (via two Fuji Xerox Iridesse presses capable of metallic, white, and specialty toners), wide format printing (using Acuity UV flatbed printer), and fine art Giclée reproduction. The offering spans design services, print collateral, large format signage, labels and packaging, promotional products, corporate swag, self-publishing books (via Printabook), photobooks (via JamJar), and calendars in various sizes (A3, A4, A6, CD formats). The Caxton Print Hub network extends these capabilities through affiliated services including Digitalprint.co.nz for digital printing, Printabook.co.nz for book publishing, and JamJar.co.nz for photobook creation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 9 for 9 entries won awards at 2023 Pride in Print Awards
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Court TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 January 2025Long-time supporter of The Court Theatre. 90th Anniversary celebration was held at The Court Theatre's Shed venue. Caxton sponsors theatre productions and events.
• Fuji Xerox New ZealandcoreTechnology or Integration27+ year strategic partnership with Fuji Xerox New Zealand. Caxton was the country's first business to install a second Fuji Xerox Iridesse digital production press. Fuji Xerox provides ongoing technical support, resources, information sheets, and samples for best practices with metallic and specialty toners. The partnership enables Caxton to stay at the forefront of digital print technology.
• FujifilmcoreTechnology or IntegrationFujifilm provided the NEW Process-less platesetter installed in June. This chemical-free plate processing technology reduces setup time, chemical usage, waste, and achieves up to 60% energy reduction. Fujifilm team supported installation and training.
• Warriors of Wildlife (WOW) / Simbonga Wildlife ReserveminorOthersCharitable partnership. Caxton sponsored Simbonga's information leaflets. WOW rescues and relocates abused wildlife from around the world to ethical sanctuaries. Janice Page (General Manager) visited the reserve in South Africa.
• Trends NZminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCaxton uses Trends NZ as a supplier source for corporate swag and promotional products (pens, tote bags, water bottles, apparel, headwear, drinkware). Links to Trends NZ catalog featured on Corporate Swag page.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Shutterfly: US-based consumer photobook and personalized print platform. Directly comparable to Caxton's JamJar photobook service as a digital-first consumer photobook offering, though operating at much larger scale and serving North American consumers.
• Blurb: Online self-publishing and photobook platform with global reach. Directly comparable to Caxton's Printabook self-publishing service as a digital platform enabling short-run book production for authors and individuals.

Direct peers

• Blue Star Print Group: One of New Zealand's largest commercial printers, offering offset, digital and large format services to enterprise and government customers across NZ. Directly comparable to Caxton as a full-service NZ-based commercial print operator serving similar B2B segments.
• Pan Print Group: New Zealand commercial printer providing offset, digital, packaging and print management services to enterprise clients. Comparable to Caxton across core commercial print offerings and enterprise customer segments.
• Webstar Print Group: NZ commercial and web offset printer with national reach and a wide range of digital and offset capabilities. Comparable to Caxton in serving NZ enterprise and government clients with offset and digital print production at scale.
• Litho Technologies: NZ-based commercial printer offering offset, digital and large format services to a similar B2B customer base. Directly comparable to Caxton's full-service model in the NZ commercial printing market.
• Kleanprint: NZ-based commercial printer with an explicit sustainability positioning and carbon-neutral certified production. Comparable to Caxton on full-service commercial print, with a stronger ESG marketing angle that overlaps with Caxton's process-less plate and energy-reduction story.

Broad incumbents

• Cimpress (parent of Vistaprint): Global mass-customization print platform operating Vistaprint and several other online print brands. A broad incumbent competing with Caxton for short-run, standardized print jobs (business cards, brochures, signage) at the lower end of the market through online self-service channels.

Others

• HP (HP Indigo / HP Large Format): Major commercial digital press manufacturer (HP Indigo) and large-format printer vendor whose equipment is used by many of Caxton's competitors. Industry-adjacent rather than a direct services peer, but shapes competitive dynamics in NZ commercial print.
• Fujifilm (Fuji Xerox / Fujifilm Business Innovation): Equipment vendor and 27+ year strategic technology partner of Caxton, supplying Iridesse digital presses and process-less plate technology. Not a direct competitor in print services but a critical enabler of Caxton's specialty toner and sustainability capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 CAXTON - Design & Print Excellence