Black Country firm puts stamp on its place in history as HM The Queen opens flagship premises
It is the new high-tech home of a Black Country printing firm that can trace its roots back to they heyday of the saddling industry.
And today, as Her Majesty the Queen was opening the flagship premises that is entrusted with re-producing her face millions of times, the Express & Star took a behind-the-scenes look at International Security Printers – formerly Walsall Security Printers.
The 70,000 sq ft facility incorporates a high security, climate controlled print works alongside testing and quality control facilities. The administration offices also include reception facilities for global dignitaries.
Located at the i54 business park on the Wolverhampton-South Staffordshire border, the company is approximately 11 miles from their existing site in Midland Road, Walsall.
The company has a world-wide client base and has produced postage stamps for 180 different countries and are considered to be one of the world's leading authorities in their field.
In recent years they are famed for making commemorative stamps marking the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the London 2012 Olympics.
"The new manufacturing premises on the prestigious i54 site, coupled with an ambitious programme of investment in state of the art printing technologies will provide us with a firm foundation from which to expand our business operations," says managing director Paul White.
"The proximity of the site to key transportation networks will be invaluable in efficiently servicing our UK, European and global clients.
"For all stamp issues, including this Royal Mail issue, it is extremely important for all the colours to look exactly how the designer intended.
"We have a lot of checks in our production process to make sure that these processes are right and that at the end of the day the colours are exactly how everyone intended."
The eye-catching building was designed by Wolverhampton-based Tweedale Architects.
The façade design incorporates an aluminium rain screen system, where coloured panels grade from right to left reflecting the overlay of tones in the printing process.
An a number of slates on the entrance canopy which reduce the buildings heat by deflecting sunshine is designed to represent the layering of sheets of paper as they come from the press.
The use of wooden textures and pebbles with water features allude to the raw materials used in the printing process.
The company started printing stamps for the Pacific kingdom of Tonga in 1963, setting up Walsall Security Printers three years later.
It was appointed a supplier to the British Post Office in 1987 and became ISP in 2004. ISP's core business is in printing self-adhesive stamps.
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