Now anything's possible
We help our customers communicate using the power of data, intelligent marketing and innovative print solutions
Our Companies
The YM Group is the leading print and marketing solutions provider in the UK, offering an extensive range of quality products and services.
We set the standards in the industry with our innovative approach and creative solutions. Firmly believing anything is possible when you have the knowledge, technology, expertise and customer focus.
As a Group we offer a full suite of services from initial ideas stage straight through to the finished product or campaign. Our combined offering is unique in the marketplace in terms of the sheer scale and breadth of our capabilities, expertise, resources, equipment, technology and facilities.
COVID 19 Information
The YM Group continues to closely monitor developments in the spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing impact on our workforce and business. We are complying with the Government guidance on working safely, have carried out COVID-19 risk assessments at our sites and shared the results with our workforce. New measures have been implemented to safeguard the health of our employees and ensure work is undertaken safely during COVID-19.
We are pleased to begin welcoming back our external visitors, including clients and contractors to our sites and offices. Visits will be via ‘appointment only’ and all visitors will be asked to complete a pre-arrival form prior to their arrival and strictly adhere to our guidelines whilst on site.
Highlights
Keeping relevant in challenging times
While many well-known brands are talking to their customers in a relevant and considerate way, others are not and trying to sell with aggressive offers. In these uncertain and unsettling times it is difficult to know what the right thing is to do…
-Debbie Conetta, Head of New Business Development, Go Direct Marketing

Save paper and stand out from the crowd by choosing short grain print
Long grain presses are ideal for standard A4 and A5 products, but when you’re looking for different formats then short grain comes into its own. We can configure formats that make you stand out, differentiate your brand and are more engaging to your customers, to encourage them to spend more. They also reduce paper waste which in turn means a more sustainable result and reduced costs; something that’s clearly of interest to our clients. When marketing budgets get tighter, clients look for ways to make effective changes and short grain products could be an option for them
– Rob Moules, Group Sales Manager
A ‘barn door’ cover allows you to reveal an aspirational or new product behind a split in the magazine cover. The pages are held together either with adhesive or tiny tabs of paper – so the customer can peel back the pages to see exciting products beneath
Tip #1
If you change from polythene to paper wrap/envelopes for mailing, check out RM discounts eg Advertising Sustainable, Mailmark, to offset the cost
Tip #2
Printing ink for digital presses can be very expensive so consider the design and ink coverage on your products, to maintain your return on investment
Tip #3
Ensure your pre press team are using the correct proofing profiles for the paper you will be printing on in order to get the most accurate representation of the final product, before going to press. Remember uncoated stocks have a different standard to coated
Tip #4
If you want to try a different catalogue/magazine format to the traditional A4/A5, find a printer with short grain, web offset presses. You will stand out from the crowd, save paper waste and money!
Tip #5
DM doesn’t have to be a letter in an envelope! Work with your DM printer at the beginning of your project to create an innovative format to engage and delight your audience
Tip #6
Print needn’t cost the earth! Only choose paper from a sustainable source eg FSC/PEFC accredited
Tip #7
Personalise your catalogue covers with special offers and vouchers. Our customers confirm they get a better response rate
Tip #8
Innovative covers for catalogues and magazines. Ask about a barn door to surprise your customers or maybe some foil blocking for a special edition
Tip #9
If you are creating a Door Drop or an instore leaflet, check out the wide range of press finished, quick turn-a-round products available. The YM Group Nested range includes a leaflet within a leaflet or a leaflet with a poster/wall chart pull out
Tip #10
RM’s new Partially Addressed Mail allows you to continue using DM communications to prospect for new customers, without using personal data. 200 times more targeted than Door Drops and cheaper than Advertising Mail
Tip #11
Selecti.ns is where we bring 6 brands together under a common theme, with a compelling offer, in a partially addressed pack (non personalised & GDPR friendly) and target households that are highly likely to find that theme appealing
Tip #12
Simple tip – remember to calibrate your monitors when designing!
YM GROUP TIPS for switching from poly to paper wrap
- No carrier sheet necessary
- If you use the RM Advertising Mail service and switch to paper, there are further postal discounts opportunities available for you
Check out the criteria for Sustainable Advertising Mail discounts (Entry Level, Intermediate Level). Mailmark discounts for machine-readable mail (bar code)
Please note:
Currently there are no Sustainable Mail discounts with Publishing Mail. However, Mailmark discounts are available with Publishing Mail
- Trays discounts – your carrier may share discounts that they receive if you switch from bags to trays with paper wrap packs
- Plain white paper wrap is an economical, easy switch to paper wrap. The main delivery details are then just ink jetted in black on the mailing line
- Remember the flat size of the paper mailing pack still needs to fall within the maximum RM size categories
For example:
Category - Large Letter, Machine readable:
Maximum size is 345 x 245 x 10mm - Paper wrap can be different types of paper, plain and printed. Discuss which is the most secure option for your pack
- Paper wrap can be printed litho or digital, depending on the amount of personalisation required or format of product
Watch your ink coverage on the design of your paper wrap if printing digitally as digital ink is expensive
Special colours and coatings may be applied to your paper wrap - Your mailing provider may have their own postal rates to share with you
- Multiple inserts and onserts for extra revenue can be included in the pack. Check the maximum number with your mailing provider
- If you find a printer that can also paper wrap, you will save the delivery costs of your books to a mailing house and the carbon footprint
- Think about using paper wrap with regional/third party advertising for extra revenue. For example, the back cover of the wrap could be a full page, colour advert
- Paper wrap is a different type of paper to your main book. Therefore, if you repeat an image from the book, the colour result will be different
Royal Mail technical guides can be found at:
https://www.royalmailtechnical.com/products_guides.cfm
YM GROUP TIPS for lower customer product returns
- Select a production team who have the technical knowledge and ability to achieve optimum colour reproduction
- Find a photographer who is experienced at capturing images with the print process in mind
- Brief your photographer carefully – is he capturing the mood or the product?
- Ensure your designers fully understand the print process
- Check that your Adobe colour management is set up for European printing within Creative Cloud (InDesign/Photoshop) as opposed to the American setting
- Are you confident that what you see on your monitor is what you will see in your printed catalogue?
- Ensure your monitors are calibrated
- Ensure your lighting viewing conditions are controlled
- The paper you print on will have a big impact on how your colour is reproduced
- Uncoated paper has specific colour conversions and if these are not followed correctly you could be disappointed with the final result
- YM Group document a full range of papers including uncoated paper stocks to reproduce the most dynamic, sharp and true colour result
- Ask your printer for a complete colour health check on your work flow
- Ensure papers are correctly databased into their appropriate ISO print conditions
- You may need to set up specific colour values for the closed loop colour systems on your printers presses to ensure the most precise reproduction throughout the print run
Upcoming events
Intelligent Acquisition Webinar
Fair Trade Furniture brand, Myakka go live with Go Analyse
YM Group Secures Long Term Reach Contract
YM Group Joins BPIF in Apprenticeship Recruitment
YM Group appoints Ezzy to business development role
