Newsprinters go the distance

Newsprinters, News International’s printing division, is made up of three state-of-the-art manufacturing plants and is responsible for printing The Sun, News of the World, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph. A project completed with a £650m pound investment, it has revolutionised the newspaper printing industry, throwing out the rulebook and creating a company that harnesses the very latest technology to become the industry model for success.

to the point worked closely with the client to deliver a strategic roll out of materials over a two-year timeframe which included: the identity and branding; cultural change communication; external signage; internal signage and wayfinding; interior graphics and workplace environment (ongoing); website consultancy; and marketing materials in print and digital format.

Broxbourne is the largest of Newsprinter’s three sites and is the company’s flagship factory. Simon Hutton, MD at to the point says, "The site itself is bigger than 23 football pitches, with one of the primary corridors a staggering 220 metres in length. This was one of the biggest challenges for our team, to add life, personality and visual interest to a corridor that was perceived by staff as a very bland (and never-ending!) area of the factory."

As Broxbourne is the largest print factory in Europe, the chosen idea was to reflect on other largest, biggest, longest records, displaying imagery alongside key facts down the length of the corridor, relevant to their size and the distance walked.

Nikki Gay, lead designer on the project says, "The style of imagery is big, bold and fun, and has a synergy with our interiors concepts. This is echoed in the typography and tone of voice which has a no-nonsense, straightforward approach. All the elements reflect the personality of the people who work there."

The project was very well received and has become so integral to the environment that it's now commonplace for visitors, contractors and staff to be directed to locations along the corridor in relation to the graphics: “Ah yes, just walk down that way and you’ll find the occupational office opposite the hot dog!”