Portsmouth printing firm pulls out the stops to produce 40,000 UEFA Euro 2020 final matchday programmes

EAGLE-EYED football fans may have spotted an unexpected name in the UEFA Euro 2020 final matchday programme.
Euros England v Italy Cup Final Programme made by Bishops Printers Euros England v Italy Cup Final Programme made by Bishops Printers
Euros England v Italy Cup Final Programme made by Bishops Printers

Portsmouth company Bishops Printers stepped up to print nearly 40,000 programmes to be delivered to Wembley by 9am on Saturday ahead of the big game in which England played Italy.

With astonishing speed and planning after England’s semi-finals win on Wednesday, the cup-final print-run almost doubled overnight.

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There wasn’t time for the family printer to wait for the final semi-final whistle either.

Bishops Printers in PortsmouthBishops Printers in Portsmouth
Bishops Printers in Portsmouth
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They engineered a head-start by anticipating an England win.

Gareth Roberts, group managing director, said: ‘We ordered in extra paper and metallic blue ink and prepared two sets of printing plates for the final covers - one for a Danish win, one for an English victory.’

The day after the semi-final, before most people were back at work, the cup-final covers had already been printed and gloss laminated.

Bishops Printers  Euro2020  The Final  CoverBishops Printers  Euro2020  The Final  Cover
Bishops Printers Euro2020 The Final Cover
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With less than 36 hours to deliver the programme it was plated and printed overnight, perfect bound the following morning before being hand-delivered by Bishops’ staff, meeting the tight deadline.

Gareth added that while Portsmouth already has a claim to Euro’s fame courtesy of local and England squad member, Mason Mount, now they have another in Bishops Printers.

He also said that while Sunday night didn’t deliver the result the country had been hoping for it doesn’t appear to have dampened demand for the cup final programme, as Bishops is currently re-printing another 36,000 copies ready for delivery on Thursday.

Bishops Printers in PortsmouthBishops Printers in Portsmouth
Bishops Printers in Portsmouth

Bishops Printers, in Walton Road, Drayton, is a family print and mailing business that began life in 1985 on Haying Island and now employs over 150 people from the local area.

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Like many, after a challenging year of trading, which saw much of its regular work from events, sport and venues put on hold or reduced, winning the contract to print the prestigious tournament programmes has been an important milestone in the company’s recovery.

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