Printer Profile


THE PRINTER AND FRAMER EXTRAORDINAIRE


Michael Spring, owner of Print and Frame It


IT’S NOT EVERY DAY YOU MEET SOMEONE


WITH A UNIQUE SET OF SKILLS, COUPLED WITH PLENTY OF PASSION. BUT THAT’S MIKE SPRING IN A NUTSHELL. EDITOR, MELANIE ATTLESEY, SPEAKS TO THE OWNER OF PRINT AND FRAME IT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS VERY NICHE BUSINESS.


For nearly two decades, Mike has operated from a unit in Luton quietly providing printing and framing services to famous names and members of the public alike. But that’s not where his journey into print began. Fresh out of university at the age of 21, Mike


started work at design agency Saatchi & Saatchi in London as their creative ideas person, churning out idea after idea each and every hour of the day. “Every time I asked if we could do something, I kept being told by the printers that it just wasn’t possible,” explains Mike. This led to him becoming increasingly frustrated by these limitations and restrictions. “I thought the only way I’m going to learn is if I become a printer and then no-one will be able to tell me what is and isn’t possible,” he added. This led Mike to start work at Raster Graphics as, in his words, the ‘demonstration kid’. “This job was a God send. Not only did I learn how to operate the machines better than most people, but I also learnt how the industry worked,” says Mike. However, with his knowledge and experience in graphic design, demonstrating printers was not quite what he had in mind for his career path.


A STROKE OF LUCK A stroke of luck followed next and Mike was headhunted by Imaginators (Swan Graphics), where he picked up even more knowledge of the large-format print market. Mike’s expertise was clearly getting him noticed and he was headhunted again, this time by Coca-Cola in Buenos Aires to work as the company’s creative


24 | June/July 2025


director. This was a job Mike loved for it meant, that at long last, he could let his creative juices flow. And with his knowledge of the print industry, Mike was able to save Coca-Cola a lot of money on some of the design jobs by just employing the right processes. He recalls saving them £250,000 on one particular job. A fond memory of his time in Buenos Aires was when he designed a round Coca-Cola bottle for the 2006 World Cup – a project he was told was going to be difficult to come to fruition. He proved the doubters wrong. Sadly, Mike’s time in Buenos Aires was cut short when he made the decision to return back to the UK for personal reasons. On his return to Luton, Mike realised that there was nowhere in the town that provided high quality print. He set about remedying this almost immediately. In a strange turn of events, his mission came to an end when he purchased a picture framing shop he used to visit as a student. M&H Services as it was known then, quickly evolved into Print and Frame It under Mike’s ownership, with the addition of wide-format printing and fine art printing added to excellent picture framing services already provided.


SAW THE POTENTIAL “I saw the potential in what the business could become. I had no knowledge of picture framing, and it took me a long time to learn the skill. I thought I would jump in and see how it goes” says Mike. Over the years, Mike transformed Print and Frame It into a business that sits halfway between a print service provider and a picture framer. Something of a niche in the UK print market. Around 10 years ago Mike introduced giclée


printing, a unique type of fine art printing, to his growing list of services. This proved to be a turning point for Print and Frame It. “We introduced this as no-one else in Luton was doing it,” explains Mike. It turned the company into one of the most advanced picture framers in the country. A business that has won many awards over the years and whose services are very much in demand.


UNIQUE SERVICES Another unique service offered by Print and Frame It is the option to wrap a picture frame with car wrap. Mike will print onto the vinyl and will then wrap the frame. This transforms a picture frame into a totally bespoke article. This is a popular choice for clients such as Morgan Motor Company. At any one-point Mike has 4,000 frames in stock, which equates to approximately 75,000 linear metres. He says it’s because he never knows who is going to walk through the door and what job is going to come in next. The most expensive frame in the offering costs £18,500 for a length. You might ask


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32