Notebooks 

They aren’t just pretty stationery, they’re tools people use every day. Whether for jotting down creative ideas or planning projects, a quality notebook becomes a constant companion. Publishers can now add their own artwork or branding to notebooks in sizes from handy jotters to beautifully bound A6 and A5 wiro notebooks. We produce them all on demand and finish them in-house with the same care and quality you’d expect from us. 

Looking for something truly unique? We collaborate with a network of trusted suppliers to bring your dream notebook to life, crafted precisely to your vision and specifications. 

These products are a subtle yet powerful way to stay relevant in your customers’ daily lives. 

Gift Wrap

Custom gift wrap is more than just a finishing touch. Our single-sheet gift wrap is printed on high-quality silk or uncoated paper and can be ordered in exactly the quantity you need, eliminating waste and excess stock. 

Gift wrap is a simple but effective way to make every order feel special, helping make your brand feel premium and create a lasting impression with customers.

Beyond Notebooks and Gift Wrap

Our product range doesn’t stop there, we also print: 

Art Prints: perfect for showcasing your designs, available in A5, A4, A3 and A2 sizes. 

Postcards: compact, vibrant and great for mailers or upselling, our postcards are the perfect way to make a big impression.

Stationery: Getting ready for a trade show or just need something extra to shout about your brand? From flyers and posters to business cards, we’ve got what you need to strengthen your brand presence.

Florals (with a twist)

Florals remain a spring staple, but we think this year sees them reimagined in more stylised ways. We expect to see: abstract petal shapes, simplified line florals and unexpected colour pairings.

Expressive Typography

We think spring will see a rise in strong, expressive typography, particularly when paired with short captions or messages. Designers will move away from overly decorative fonts and instead use it as a central design element that creates playful and contemporary greeting cards.

Short captions allow the typography to shine, making the sentiment immediately clear and visually striking. This approach works well for a range of card types, from humour and everyday greetings to celebratory or motivational messages.

Tactile Textures & Hand-Made Touches

In response to digital perfection, we think there will be a push for personal designs, where customers will be more drawn to products that feel good to hold. Texture driven designs help elevate cards into something more memorable, adding depth and interest. Special finishes such as embossing, foiling or die-cutting add those unique, handmade touches.

More designers will mix digital illustration with hand-drawn elements for added individuality.

This also applies to the rise we expect to see in nostalgia based design, with funky patterns and vintage typography creating a more personable aesthetic that feels familiar and comforting.

Nature Inspired

We think designs will reflect environmental themes, drawing inspiration from earthy tones and natural textures. Eco-conscious materials, such as recycled paper and packaging will become mainstream.

What are Trade Shows? 

Trade shows are organised events where businesses from a specific industry gather together to exhibit their products and services to retailers, buyers, and other professionals. One perfect example of this is PG Live, the UK’s only trade exhibition dedicated to greeting cards. This event attracts card buyers, international distributions and retailers from across the world, all looking to find exciting new publishers and products for the upcoming year. 

Why are Trade Shows Important? 

Connect with Key Buyers – People from leading UK and international retail chains visit trade shows to select products for their stores and to meet new publishers. 

Build Industry Relationships – Meeting buyers, collaborators and suppliers in person builds trust fast and can open doors far quicker than emails or calls. People are more likely to remember businesses they’ve met, especially when you give them something tangible, like samples or brochures. 

Discover Trends & Inspiration – Trade shows are great for spotting what’s next, whether that’s new design trends, popular themes or print techniques. This helps you to stay competitive, spark creativity and spot gaps your designs can fill.

Planning Ahead 

Get the most from your trade show experience and make sure to plan ahead! At The Imaging Centre, we often work with publishers to make sure their print samples are ready well before the event. Printed samples are often the first thing a buyer touches and remembers, so it’s important to talk to us early so we can fit your orders in. 

Every show has cut-offs, so before promising anything check those deadlines with us. We’ll help you plan around our turnaround times and avoid any last-minute stress. 

See Us at PG Live in June!

We’re exhibiting at PG Live this year! Make sure to come and say hello and see what we can do for your printing needs.

A Growing Community 

This year we were thrilled to welcome 105 new Publisher Members to The Imaging Centre, bringing us to a total of 830 Members.

Record Production & Print Excellence

Our production floor has never been busier. In 2025, we completed a remarkable 22,000 jobs, printing a staggering 15,250,000 cards. 

A special highlight: our hardworking packers manually packed 10,500,000 cards by hand, a true testament to our precision, care, and craftsmanship.

Investment in Innovation

To continue offering the best possible service, we made several strategic purchases in our production capabilities, including 1 New Press and 5 Finishing Machines purchased. 

These additions strengthen our workflow, enhance print quality, and allow us to meet growing demand.

Industry Engagement 

In 2025 we proudly attended 6 trade shows, engaging with partners, publishers, and industry leaders to showcase what makes The Imaging Centre unique.

Our InPress seminars were another standout success, with 6 seminars presented and 42 publishers attending.

Our Team

Behind every statistic and achievement is our incredible team of dedicated professionals. Their expertise, creativity, and commitment have shaped every milestone of 2025 and we couldn’t be prouder of the work they achieve.

1. It all begins with the envelope

Here at The Imaging Centre, we always recommend starting with the envelope, an often overlooked but essential first step in building your greeting card range. While we can easily cut and crease cards to any size, envelopes come in fixed, standard dimensions, so designing around them helps avoid production issues later. 

Keeping your envelope choices simple and on-brand also elevates your collection; rather than matching each envelope to individual designs, use colour to showcase your ranges, think reds for Valentine’s Day, greens or reds for Christmas, yellow for Easter, or choose one signature shade that ties your whole brand together.

2. The perfect paper

To create the perfect card, you need the perfect paper. We’ve partnered with a handpicked selection of trusted suppliers who share our values of quality and sustainability.

We work closely with the likes of GF Smith, Fedrigoni, Fenner Paper, and Elliot Baxter to offer a top-tier range of boards that are made to make your designs shine. Whatever your style, we’ve got the paper to match your vision.

Responsibly sourced materials sit at the heart of every card. From certified sustainable forestry to environmentally conscious packaging, every decision we make is designed to minimise environmental impact without compromising quality.

3. Design: Let your vision take shape

Before ink ever hits paper, the journey begins with a spark of your creativity. Publishers develop designs that reflect their brand, their customers and the message they want to send. At this stage, Publishers might have an idea of the type of finish they’re looking for, or they may want to experiment with options once their design is complete

4. Preparing the artwork for print

Once a design is ready, our pre-press team steps in to ensure every file is print-perfect. That means:

• Colour profiles are accurate
  
• Layouts and bleeds are set correctly
  
• Imagery is sharp and high-resolution
  
• Finishing elements are carefully prepared
  

These checks ensure the final card looks exactly the way the designer intended!

5. Ready for print

With everything approved, it’s time to hit the presses. Using state-of-the-art printing technology, we bring each design to life with precision and consistency. Every sheet is carefully monitored to maintain colour accuracy and quality across the full run.

6. The finishing touches

What elevates a greeting card from lovely to unforgettable? The finishes. Depending on the publisher’s vision, cards may be enhanced with:

• Foil (for that irresistible shimmer)
• Embossing or debossing
• Textured or speciality coatings
• Laminates or spot UV
  

These extras add personality, dimension and a premium feel that customers can instantly see and feel.

7. Packed, protected and ready to go

Once printed and finished, cards are carefully packed for delivery. Packaging materials are selected with sustainability in mind, ensuring orders arrive safely while keeping environmental impact low.

Wherever cards are headed, they leave our facility looking pristine and ready for the shelf!

8. And Beyond: A sustainable second life

A greeting card’s lifecycle doesn’t end when it’s been opened by the recipient. Thanks to recyclable papers and eco-friendly materials, it can re-enter the sustainable cycle. continuing its journey in a new form. Recycling is a simple act, but one that helps close the loop and supports a more environmentally conscious industry.

Foiling

Gold, silver, copper – or even rose gold – foil instantly brings a luxurious and festive feel to any design. Perfect for stars and snowflakes, foiling also looks stunning in elegant typography, where it catches the light and draws the eye. For a more modern twist, holographic foil gives a shimmering, multicoloured effect that changes as you move the card.

Embossing

Embossing creates a raised texture on your card, adding depth and tactility that invites people to reach out and touch. It’s a lovely way to make elements like your logo, festive motifs or greetings stand out. You can pair embossing with foil for a truly premium finish that is perfect for Christmas.

Debossing

Where embossing raises the design, debossing presses it into the card stock. This technique creates a beautifully subtle indentation, ideal for minimalist or contemporary designs. A simple Christmas greeting or snowflake pattern in debossed detail can look effortlessly elegant.

Spot Colours

Our presses all offer additional colours to the standard CMYK, most popular additional colours are white ink, perfect for printing onto an already coloured board. We also use Metallic inks, and Neons. 

Premium Papers

Choosing a luxury paper stock can completely elevate the look and feel of your card. Heavy uncoated stocks can feel beautifully tactile, or smooth silk finishes  give designs a polished look. The Imaging Centre sample packs showcase our wide range of paper stock, and you can request your free pack here!

Design with Feeling

The magic of a Christmas card isn’t just in the print, it’s in the thought behind it. Combine your chosen finishes with warm colours, heartfelt and original messages, as well as meaningful design details, to create something that the recipient enjoys and captures the spirit of the season.