U 4 Print stands up for CWU

East London-based print and mail company U 4 Print Services has printed a 6.7x2.4m postcard to hang off the side of a double-decker 'battle bus' commissioned by the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

The bus is touring the UK gathering public support and awareness for the plight of 64 Crown Post Offices nationwide that have been earmarked for closure.

The tour covers Scotland, Wales and England, collecting signatures on the postcard along the way, before ending in Westminster, where the postcard will be 'delivered' by CWU representatives to newly appointed business secretary Greg Clark. 

U 4 Print is regularly commissioned for the CWU’s print work, including for banners, placards, inflatables and staging. 

Sales manager Danny Mackenzie said: “We’ve done bits and pieces for the CWU before and they loved this from the install. Hopefully it goes really well and their campaign is a success."

The postcard was printed on 440gsm PVC banner material using U 4’s Vutek GS3250 UV series printer.

Mackenzie said that last week’s cabinet reshuffle had caused a minor complication: with former business secretary Sajid Javid moving to the communities' department, his name on the postcard had to be overlaid with Clark's at very short notice.

Mackenzie added: “We’re especially close to the CWU as we are also a mailing house. We do a lot of work, all through Royal Mail, so if it is going to affect us then of course it’s nice to work with guys like the CWU. It feels like you are putting them in a good light and any work you do that you get the credit for is all the better."

The CWU said that hundreds of jobs could be lost with the closures and that it has called for a strike ballot of its members.

CWU communications head Chris Webb said: “We think it can have an impact. The support from the public in the first couple of days has been unbelievable. We’ve been mobbed everywhere we’ve gone. We’re getting great pictures everywhere and will be having a huge visual stunt in the centre of London on Friday.

“U 4 Print did a fantastic job, as we were looking for something visually impactful. We’ve already got thousands of signatures and it’s only three days into a five-day tour.”

U 4 also runs a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 102, five MBO 30 folders, two Heidelberg cylinders and two Muller Martini stitching lines.

Its turnover is £2m and it employs 16 full-time staff.