Killer app: Tayprint hits the streets for homelessness charity

While Christmas is the best time of year for many, for some it is the worst. During the festive season, the UK’s homeless population are left out in the cold, surrounded by reminders of the reveries of the more fortunate.

As part of a campaign to draw attention to the issue of homelessness among the young, Tayprint worked with End Youth Homelessness.

What did you produce?

Tayprint output a run of pastel-toned posters, which were distributed to 164 UK sites covering cities such as London, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh, to promote the charity’s ‘Sleep Out’ campaign, which will see a targeted 2,300 participants sleep rough to raise awareness and aim to raise more than £1m to help the UK’s 83,000 young homeless people.

What did the job entail?

Posters were provided to marketing agency WCRS by OOH specialist Jack, which commissioned Tayprint in Dundee to print the job. With an HP Scitex TurboJet four-colour printer, solvent inks were printed onto blueback paper stock. The stock was cut up to four-sheet poster size and solvent inks were used for their increased resistance to outdoor elements like wind and rain, making them suitable for an out-of-home campaign.

What challenges were overcome?

Putting the job together for a charitable cause meant it was important to Tayprint that costings were kept low, according to sales manager Chris Harris.

“We are very sensitive about the nature of campaigns like this,” he said. “Many factors allow us to do this, such as a digital press allowing us a shorter set-up time and the  job can be sent through at greater speed.

“Even with that in mind, we always do our best to add a little more value and a personal touch, which is possible as we are a smaller company. There is little back-and-forth, we are trusted by customers to do our job.”

What was the feedback?

WCRS creative director Orlando Warner said: “When you make an ad to get young people off the streets, it has to count. People  have to notice. But more importantly they have to care.  This campaign forces people to engage with the kinds of decisions young people on the streets have  to make every day.”


Do you have a Killer App? We are interested in special, difficult or simply fabulous print jobs. Contact Rhys handley on 020 7501 6388 or  rhys.handley@markallengroup.com.