xic.com

Granite Expo, get your free Haribo’s here!

2011-10-25T12:39:00.001+01:00

Thursday 27^th from 9-6 at the Hilton Treetops marks this year’s Granite Expo http://www.granitepr.co.uk/, exhibiting and celebrating SMEs across the North East, including our fantastic selves, ;)! We are all excited for the event and have been busy organising freebies, case studies, products, and a FREE prize draw for our stand to show off & give to all you lucky attendees!

We have lots to show and giveaway including four banner stands boasting our services from branded products to our bespoke marketing services. As for the freebies, you will just have to come pay us a visit at Stand 67 to get your hands on them, but we can tell you that there are some of our famous Haribo giveaways on the uptake if you come and chat to us, we’re a friendly bunch, honest!

This year we are co-promoting with Simpsons http://www.simpsonshotel.co.uk/ and showcasing our first X-media Case Study on the popular West End hotel! Calum and Jason will be on hand to discuss the Case Study after working closely on the project as well as talking you through our customised golf products, who wouldn’t want their own branded balls? Moreover, we will have our own in-house Social Media ‘Butterfly’ Cheryl on hand to discuss all things Twitter and Facebook, there were rumours of hiring the Blue Twitter bird outfit for the exhibition but they were swiftly thwarted, much to Cheryl’s relief!

But, the focus isn’t just on us, Granite Expo is showcasing over 100 exhibitors, 12 must see seminars and plenty of crucial local SME networking, you really can’t afford to miss this. So please come down and pay us a visit, partake in some conversation and of course indulge in our giveaways, they are pretty great if we do say so ourselves!

We love Blogging, and here is why you should too!

2011-10-19T12:02:00.001+01:00

There aren't enough words to describe how much we love Blogging and writing content that we are passionate about. It is an extremely cleansing and powerful way to convey your knowledge and even better, your opinions, we all have them! Our passion is sparked by articles all the time that are relevant and topical to XIC and it is also a chance for us to praise and raise awareness of other people/companies whose content we love also… interactivity is the aim of the game!

In order to promote our Blog, we try to keep our content fresh by updating it once/twice a week with topics from print to social media, marketing to cakes! Then we link it up to blogs/articles/influencers who have spurred our creativity and @mention them on Twitter and tag them on Facebook…it’s a reciprocal thing folks!

We can almost guarantee that if you haven’t started Blogging yet you will fall head over heels for it when you do, and for those avid Bloggers already out there, you will know exactly what we are talking about J

Since we are waxing lyrical about Blogging, here are some of the benefits and some tips that we personally have found particularly valuable:

· Brand Building: Blogging is an excellent way to build your brand with real communication and knowledge, proving what’s important and great about your brand. We have received cross-Atlantic recognition with some of our content through networking we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise, nothing like a bit of self-promotion!

· Social Media: An excellent tool for marketing your Blog, enabling you to tag and mention all sorts of relevant influencers and businesses local or global and if you’re really lucky you might even get your Blog re-tweeted or shared as we have managed through specific networking.

· Search Engine Optimisation: This is one of the benefits that we have only become aware of recently, but it is in fact possible for you to blog your way to the top of Google. You can do this by regularly updating your content, keeping your blog fresh, including relevant links and using key words specific to your company.

We also would recommend this here site: http://www.thelinkmedic.com/ for useful tips on Blogging, tools and promotion, you can also follow them @TheLinkMedic on Twitter for up to the minute information!

So whether a Blogging virgin, a new start or a keen bean, please feel free to leave your comments, questions and feedback about Blogging, we would love to hear from you!

Integrating traditional and digital, print is not dead!

2011-10-10T12:16:00.001+01:00

So having watched a fantastic webinar this week that went into detail about the power of combining both traditional print with digital tools we coincidently then found a few interesting blogs from Ussery Print: http://bit.ly/4hvMsN and Golden Parachute: http://bit.ly/oqpkhh who were all communicating the same ideas. As a print, reprographics and marketing service provider we are always looking for new, changing and innovative ways to combine our well established print services with our creative marketing endeavours.

The webinar focused on understanding the need to co-ordinate all efforts including email marketing, print, web, SMS and QR codes to name a few. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly important to measure our own metrics and analytics in order to prove return on investment as well as offering it as a service. A good marketing provider will analyse and utilise these metrics thoroughly in order to gain the most out of said ROI.

As a result, combining traditional print with digital tools, we can now tailor campaigns to suit our clients and prospects through direct interaction using print with QR codes leading to landing pages, for example, which means we collect data from customers who are genuinely interested. We are moving towards a much more interactive world due to consumers being better informed than ever before! It has never been more important to be reactive to these changes and that is something we at XIC pride ourselves on.

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing

2011-09-30T12:39:00.002+01:00

After being inspired by an article expressing the on-going and topical debate about the differences between outbound and inbound marketing (http://bit.ly/bRRtOC ), we thought we would get creative and write an entry for the XIC blog.

Traditionally, marketers would push a company message through various channels such as cold calling, advertising, outsourced telemarketing, and promotion for example, to try and communicate with that one in a million prospect, and these are still very prominent activities for companies across industries. This kind of outbound marketing is still heavy practised but the debate points out that much outbound marketing should be replaced by inbound marketing. We are now living in an age where consumers are much more sophisticated at ‘dodging’ and filtering out information that they don’t perceive as valuable, in fact we would go as far as to say that techniques such as cold calling marks you as human spam, and in your face advertising can make you a pest or worse, be muted!

As a result of this shift in consumer awareness, inbound marketing presents much more effective opportunities to be found by consumers who actually want to be a part of your community and expertise. Be it through your website, social media presence or relationship marketing, it is now possible for you to interact directly with your existing and prospect client base. We at XIC are inclined to agree with the article that a sustainable ratio of inbound versus outbound marketing is much heavier on the former and only backed up by the latter. However, it is also important to do what’s right for your company and tailoring to what suits your products and services. No one size fits all!

It seems that we are all playing catch up with developments regarding the web and how we harness it to build our brands, but either way it is essential to become a part it. There are many positive outcomes in adopting inbound marketing techniques, whether it’s to increase customer loyalty, generate leads, educate your fans on company specific issues or just simple communication, inbound marketing should now, if it isn’t already, play a much heftier role in your marketing strategy.

Macmillan coffee morning, cakes aplenty!

2011-09-28T14:32:00.002+01:00

XIC’s Jill and Claire are hosting a coffee morning for Macmillan Cancer Support this Friday 30^th in the ‘tea room’ at XIC, find us here: http://bit.ly/niKUJl.

We cordially invite you to scoff down some homemade treats and indulge in some gossip & banter with us at 10am, though we will accept early birds if you don’t mind help setting out the cakes!

Minimum donation is £3 but we know you are a generous bunch so feel free to exceed the limit :)

For more info on Macmillan Cancer Support check out their website here: http://bit.ly/o39ZFy or Facebook them here: facebook.com/macmillancancer

Look forward to seeing you there…

Social media week, excited much?

2011-09-19T09:49:00.004+01:00

Beirut, Berlin, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Glasgow, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo, sounds like the travellers holiday of a lifetime…hold the phone, “what’s that” we hear you say? Yes, it is in fact a list of all the cities that are involved in and playing host to Social Media Week! Pretty Amazing, right?

As you have probably noticed from our tweeting and Facebooking we are pretty excited about Social Media Week and are inclined to agree with The Urquhart Partnership in their blog (http://bit.ly/rbX3Cy) and fess up to being ‘a bit geeky about social media’, well said UP! The event takes place September 19^th-23^rd 2011. So, we at XIC thought we would dedicate this week’s blog entry to the festivities.

For those of you who don’t know, Social Media Week started in 2009 and brings hundreds of thousands of people together every year by offering the opportunity to share experiences and educate what and how social media has affected them and their business. Consequently, as part of Social Media week Glasgow, Creative Space are hosting a day in Aberdeen, this Friday 23^rd, so check out the link and get involved, you know you want to: (http://bit.ly/oaNGwN)

In light of the event we thought we would share some of our experiences and encourage you to do also! We want all our social media to be a hub of interactivity between us and our fans, clients, customers, followers and anyone who is interested in our business and content. However, we recognise that this is a long term strategy and takes time and effort to cultivate. Building brand awareness and harnessing customer loyalty are all aspects of our goals and we think that things are really starting to happen.

We have noticed marked improvements on our likes and interactions on Facebook, even more followers and mentions, re-tweets on Twitter and plenty of networking on LinkedIn! Moreover, new advancements have taken place such as building a company profile on LinkedIn, building a Facebook landing page, including a ‘Like’ box in our blog amongst many others.

This is excellent progress for us thus far as we can now start to measure and track our responses to further target and improve our content. We feel we are starting to understand our fans and followers more and more and recognise that this will continue to be an on-going process.

So, how much are you a social media (for business) geek, have you caught the bug? Leave a comment on the blog, post us an update on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/nzJPB7, give us a shout on Twitter: http://bit.ly/pLhIT1 or visit us on LinkedIn http://linkd.in/mU7ngc.

Finally, our very own Facebook landing page…

2011-09-14T09:33:00.006+01:00

Well chaps, we got so excited about developing our Facebook landing page that we thought we would write a small entry for the XIC Blog.

After attending the First Lady of Social Media (Nicky Fraser’s) training day for Facebook Wizard, we were inspired to mark the first of many new developments in the XIC Social Media Strategy. Facebook represents just one arm of the strategy and a business page is one of the most up-to-the-minute and cost-effective means of promoting and marketing your business! Take note… Nevertheless, for those of you who aren’t aware, the Facebook landing page is a fun and expressive way to convert visitors into fans, yes that’s right, real, actual, informed fans who are genuinely there because of you…

Digging a little deeper, here are some of the actual benefits:

It is a chance to communicate your company message and improve how informed your visitors are about your brand.

Including a specific call to action will allow you to entice visitors and encourage them to find out more about you, even connecting with your Twitter or Blog (like in our landing page we have incorporated clickable Twitter and LinkedIn buttons. Noice!)

It sets you apart from the rest! A landing page increases your professional appearance and is something many other SME’s have not done.

So, for those of you who aren’t already a fan get yourselves across and ‘Like’ our page here: http://on.fb.me/qbxuIW and to all of our existing, loyal xic.com fans just click the ‘welcome’ tab under our profile pic and let us know what you think.

Clarifying the print services provider to marketing services provider debate

2011-09-07T09:18:00.002+01:00

We thought it was relevant to our own developments within XIC to try and engage and educate about the transitional period ourselves and many print companies are going through to evolve from print services providers to marketing services providers (PSP-MSP). With the digital revolution in full flow, the demand for traditional printed products, it seems, may be diminishing what with the internet/email, e-books and mobile technologies causing disruption within the printing industry! The PSP – MSP transition is a worthy and relevant topic that we will be attempting to explain and inform in this here Blog!

This transition seems in many ways like natural progression, and is something we are fanatical about, but it has coined fans and critics within the industry alike. However, for XIC it is all about adding value to our current business and being able to provide our existing clients a reason to continue our excellent services with more options to obtain needs and wants all under our own roof, we can already do it, so why not? In addition, it widens our potential customer base and allows for existing clients to recommend/refer us, which by the way is where many of our customers come from!

However, the on-going debate extends to the value of traditional print, and was sparked just yesterday after speaking with a respective client about how traditional forms of direct marketing still has a very relevant underpinning. Take for example certain market segments that do not use the internet or mobile apps and prefer the tangible effect of traditional print. It would appear that as many industries are conforming to a digital way of life, there is less competition with this form of media… presents some food for thought? This also coincides with a recent article we found and we quote “electronic media hasn’t quite replaced all of the intimacy you can get with a printed book or magazine” in response to the new Social Media Monthly magazine: (http://bit.ly/odug4F)

So for us it is about merging the old with the new, embracing new technologies and opportunities as well as respecting and developing our roots. Everything from printing services to web page design, pURLs, QR Codes, direct marketing and design and not to mention Social Media marketing we think you’ll be both impressed and satisfied with our developments and the on-going transition to a bespoke marketing services provider…

Cheryl McClorey

Sometimes print buyers need to realise that they need help too

2011-07-29T14:22:00.001+01:00

The mist swirled around me.
Everything looked unfamiliar.
I was lost.

I was out on a mountain walk recently and I took the wrong route. I thought I knew the way over the mountain pass. But I made an error when I decided where to walk.

Fortunately I quickly realised that things had gone wrong. But if only I had consulted my map and compass first I could have avoided the error. And I could have had a rather shorter walk.

If only I had realised that I needed some help, things would have gone better.

Sometimes print buyers need to realise that they need help too

Sometimes print buyers can get lost in the huge array of choices. Sometimes the constant bombardment of technical phrases can make things seem unfamiliar.

It can be very tempting for a print buyer to believe that they know all the answers. It can be very tempting to assume they know the best decision. But that is what I did on my mountain walk – with disastrous consequences.

But sometimes asking for some advice can avoid those consequences and result in an even better answer. That is why it can make a lot of sense (and save time) to consult your printer more.

Buyers who consult their printers often achieve better results. They are in control of their work because there are no technical errors. And they create some great partnerships with their printers.

Buyers who don’t consult their printers can struggle to create a good partnership with their suppliers. They have to work an awful lot harder to achieve good results. And their jobs can have errors which they could have avoided if they had spoken to their printers.

Here are three ways in which your printer can help you.

1) Your printer can help create the most economic size

I like to think that I can plan up a sheet reasonably well. But each time that I try, I get the grips wrong. Or don’t allow enough gutter. Or forget about the bleed.

Printers can plan their sheets better than anyone. They can be really helpful at showing you how you can fit an extra set of leaflets onto the same sheet. Or how to create extra pages by using a different size for your brochure.

2) Your printer can help you make the right paper choice

I have lost count of the times that I have seen people make bad paper decisions. Clients are often disappointed because the paper is too see-through.
Or too flimsy.
Or the colours are too dull.
Or the paper has cracked and broken solid colours .
Or it can’t be written on.
Or it just doesn’t feel right.

Printers have a good knowledge of different paper options for their clients. And they are able to discuss these options with you. It can be difficult for buyers to be up to date with all the paper choices. Talking to their printer can help them.

3) Your printer can help you with distribution costs

A printer with in-house mailing facilities can often reduce postage costs in a way that buyer cannot. They may have access to postage deals that are not available to smaller companies. Or they may have relationships with providers that buyers are not aware of.

Printers also have good relationships with local haulage companies. It is surprising at the delivery options that they can sometimes create.

Can printers really know more than buyers?

The answer to this question is yes, printers can know more. I like to think that I am an experienced buyer. But that doesn’t stop me from asking my suppliers questions. And sometimes they come up with answers that I have never thought of.

I was helping a client produce a magazine more economically recently. I thought I had come up with a great new size that would allow them a larger page size and cheaper prices. But I had calculated the size incorrectly. When I talked to the printer they calculated a size that was only a few millimetres different. But the printer’s size worked.

Without the printer I could have got things very wrong.

But don’t assume a printer is always right

Sometimes it is worth double checking an answer with another supplier as well. Not every printer gets everything right all the time.

And sometimes printers with different presses come up with different answers. Talking to two printers can give you a choice of solutions.

And if you have a really unusual idea, you may need to take time to explain it to a printer. Sometimes my mind works in a different way from my supplier. But when we talk about it we can usually work out a solution.

Together the buyer and the supplier can make a powerful team.

Here are three steps to get the best out of your supplier

1) Ask your supplier if you could be doing things differently with your projects
2) Challenge your supplier to reduce your price without changing their profit margin
3) Have a regular product review meeting with your supplier

Make sure you are on the right route to get the best results from your print buying

Speak to your supplier. They will prevent those bad consequences. They can guide you through the maze of choices and technical specification. They will make sure that you don’t get lost on the wilderness of print specification.

Written by Matthew Parker and reproduced with permission. www.printandprocurement.co.uk

The Alternative Open...!

2011-07-15T16:26:00.004+01:00

Currently enjoying the second of our client golf days at Peterculter Golf Club. The teams are still out on the course at the moment, however here are a few earlier photographs.

Some new customer comments...

2011-07-08T16:13:00.002+01:00

Some new comments we've received recently from customers:

Karen has a lovely manner, both over the telephone and on a face to face basis. She remains calm and helpful and you're left in no doubt the job will get done on time.

Having only used XIC once, it's hard to judge the last comment. However I certainly felt that our business was important and that responses were handled quickly.

This was a last minute request & we were really unsure if the pop-up stand would be ready in time. Grant was really helpful & started working on our request pretty much straight away. Very impressed with the service.

Fantastic service. Very customer focused. Highly professional. Above and beyond expectations. My happiness factor is Sky High. Would recommend to everyone.

High quality finish on time. What more could I ask for. Well, Jaffa Cakes are always good :-)

The results of our iPad2 free prize draw.

2011-07-08T12:09:00.002+01:00

Many thanks for all the entries for our iPad2 free prize draw.

We've just made the draw, which you can see here.

Could it be yours?

Some initial survey results...

2011-06-13T15:18:00.002+01:00

Over the last few weeks, we've been asking our customer some very probing questions. Well, they weren't that probing to be honest, but we're keen to share the current results of this ongoing process.

We asked the following questions:

How well do you feel your enquiry was handled?
95.7% answered excellent/good with a further 4.3% answering Satisfactory.

Please rate the professionalism of the sales service you received throughout the duration of your order:
Helpfullness - 87% said excellent with 13% saying good. 0% said unsatisfactory or poor.
Communications - 78.3% said excellent and 21.7% said good. 0% said unsatisfactory or poor.
Politeness - 87% said excellent and 13% said good. 0% said unsatisfactory or poor.

How do you rate the following:
We respond quickly - 100% agreed.
I get value for money - 73.9% agreed, 26.1% neither agreed or disagreed. 0% diagreed.
I get my goods when I want them - 87% agreed, 13% neither agreed or disagreed. 0% diagreed.
I am pleased with the quality of the goods when they arrive - 100% agreed.
We listen and give helpful advice - 100% agreed.
xic makes me feel special - 77.3% agreed, 22.7% neither agreed or disagreed. 0% diagreed.

Overall, how satisfied were you with working with xic
100% agreed!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond so far.

Win an iPad 2!

2011-05-26T16:40:00.002+01:00

As part of our 25th birthday celebrations, we're giving away a brand new shiny iPad2!

Just visit xic.com for details.

Personalised Golf Products

2011-05-25T12:47:00.001+01:00

Check out this short video highlighting our personalised golf products, ideal for corporate golf outings!

25th Birthday Party...the photographs!

2011-05-23T15:42:00.001+01:00

As part of our 25th birthday celebrations, we had a wonderful staff night out on Friday at the Marcliffe at Pitfodels in Aberdeen.

Here's a selection of the photographs taken on the night.

Read on>

25th Birthday Party.

2011-05-20T16:15:00.001+01:00

As part of our 25th year birthday celebrations, we're heading out for a meal tonight at the Marcliffe at Pitfodels in Aberdeen.

Hopefully have some pictures on Monday to share.

we should get £250 for this.....!

2011-05-19T16:13:00.000+01:00

Hope you've had time to check out our latest video offering.

Remember, we do these things with tongue firmly in cheek!

you can watch it here>

The first of our 2011 Golf Outings

2011-05-18T09:47:00.002+01:00

We've just uploaded some photos from the first of our 2011 Golf Outings at Peterculter Golf Club.

You can see more here>

Opening Hours....

2011-04-28T16:19:00.003+01:00

Just a wee reminder that our Aberdeen office is open as normal on Royal Wedding Friday and May Day Holiday Monday.

However, our Edinburgh office is closed on May Day Holiday Monday.

Our Easter Opening Hours....

2011-04-21T09:25:00.002+01:00

You'll be pleased to hear that our Aberdeen branch will be open throughout all the local, Easter and Royal Wedding holidays offering the usual range of print and reprographic services.

Read more>

Recycling our waste....

2011-03-28T12:24:00.004+01:00

We were recently asked about our recycling policy and procedures. Well, it's certainly not something that we take lightly.

Firstly, we're one of the few print organisations in the country to have worked towards acheiving accreditation to ISO 14001 (which we've held since 2007). However, there's little point in having it if it isn't applied.

And that's why all of our waste paper and card is segregated from our regular waste and is removed for re-cycling.

Read more>

Fancy playing around with xic?

2011-03-21T16:23:00.001Z

OK, what we should have asked was, 'do you fancy playing a round with xic?'

As part of the 25 Year Anniversary Celebrations, we've got limited places available at Peterculter Golf Club on Friday 13th May & Friday 3rd June. Golfers of all abilities are welcome, so if you'd fancy taking part, get in touch with Jason Moir directly (jason@xic.com) to book your place. Entry is free and the day will include bacon rolls on arrival, refreshments, prizes and your supper. But you will need to bring your own sticks...that might help!

But please remember, places are strictly limited and will be allocated on a first come-first served basis.

We need friends..

2011-03-18T06:30:00.000Z

We need friends...can you help?

If you're already registered with Facebook, you can use it for all sorts of reasons. You can keep up to date with all our goings on, or watch out for information about our competition entry dates, or even use it to leave feedback regarding recent jobs.

Either way, we need friends :-(

In the Danger Zone

2011-02-25T12:52:00.002Z

We've just entered the Danger Zone!

Check it out>

D is for Direct Marketing

2011-02-24T10:00:00.003Z

As we reach the next letter in our ongoing A-Z, we introduce one of our lesser known services: Direct Marketing.

This covers lots of multichannel marketing, from postcards, mail shots, targeted promotions and of course personalised emails..just like this one! All designed, printed, personalised and mailed directly to your client.

“We are, as much as possible, using multichannel marketing, but most of our eggs are in direct mail. We have been in the direct mail business for more than 15 years, and it is our most robust database of donor information. Our most loyal donors are found through the direct mail programme, and by far, the biggest revenue generator is direct mail” says Elizabeth LaBorde, Head of Development at the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

And if you're in any doubt about how much of this we do, our annual bill for stamps looks more like a telephone number than a real number! (We don't really use sticky stamps, but you get the idea).

To find out out more about our Direct marketing services, or for a demonstration of our email marketing solution, just give us a call on either 01224 878799 (Aberdeen) or 0131 226 2913 (Edinburgh)

2011-02-23T09:36:00.002Z

Here's our new 25 Year Anniversary logo.

Designed in house by Chris.

What do you think?

C is for Calendars..

2011-02-22T09:15:00.000Z

OK, so we know it's just the beginning of 2011 and people are not really thinking about their 2012 calendars just yet. That usually happens at the beginning of December.

Fair enough.

However, what about training calendars? They're updated fairly regularly. Our own quarterly calendars are updated and sent out every three months with a different message every three months? So you don't have to wait until the end of the year before you have the need for a calendar.

Our Aberdeen branch are happy to answer any questions regarding calendars, or anything else from the A-Z and they can be contacted on 01224 878799 whilst our Edinburgh crew are just as helpful and can be contacted on 0131 226 2913.

And it's good night from him..

2011-02-17T11:30:00.002Z

On a recent visit to STV in Aberdeen, our colleague Murray got to fulfil a lifelong ambition, when he sat behind the famous desk and read the news.

Thanks to STV and JCI Aberdeen for arranging the visit and helping a dream come true.

B is for Business Cards

2011-02-17T09:11:00.001Z

The question that we probably get asked most often is "Do you do business cards?"

The fact that we've included it in our A-Z Guide to Services should put it beyond any doubt that we do actually print business cards! All kinds. Big ones, small ones, colour ones, black and white ones, single sided ones, double sided ones, ones with square edges and ones with rounded edges.

Yup, we've pretty much got it covered when it comes to business cards.

So if you need some business cards, or anything else from our A-Z, just give us a call on 01224 878799 (Aberdeen) or 0131 226 2913 (Edinburgh)

A is for Adverts

2011-02-15T09:07:00.000Z

Seen our A-Z guide to services recently? Well don't worry if you haven't because over the next little while, we're going to tell you a bit about what we do and how it can help you!

ADVERTS

You see, we have our own in-house creative team and whether your Adverts are for recruiting staff, or Yellow Pages, or advising of a print sale(!) or simply for getting your message across, they'll come up with something to get the job done.

We're happy do deal directly with your publisher, so you don't have to worry about dpi and lpi and all that other stuff. That's our job! And once you've approved your Advert, we'll make sure it's on its way ready for publication.

Give us a call on 01224 878799 (that's our Aberdeen office) or 0131 226 2913 (and that's the office in Edinburgh) and have a chat with a member of our team and find out how we can help.

Start at the very beginning...

2011-02-14T09:04:00.000Z

Our A-Z campaign has been running for a couple of weeks now. If you're not on our email database, drop us a line at grantm@xic.com and we'll get you added on straight away.

However you can catch up right here as we'll be listing them as they are mailed out.

Friday Morning "D Spot"

2011-02-11T11:18:00.002Z

Join us for our first Friday morning "D-Spot"

let your hair down and turn your speakers to the max!!

And then click here

Happy Birthday Jason and Grant

2011-02-11T06:30:00.002Z

Happy Birthday to Jason and Grant, who share the same birthday (although not the same year).

Claire also undertook some wonderful aerobatics when delivering the cake!

We've moved!

2011-02-04T14:40:00.001Z

Our Facebook pages have moved! You can access our new Facebook pages here>

Looking for a career in sales?

2011-01-28T16:19:00.002Z

Looking for a career in sales? Our Edinburgh branch is currently looking to appoint a business Development Executive to promote the company and its services in the local area.

Read on>

FPAL Recent Result..

2011-01-27T09:27:00.002Z

Anyone that works in the oil and gas industry will be aware of the importance of FPAL. FPAL works to indentify, evaluate and monitor suppliers on behalf of its purchasing memebers.

Above is a copy of our most recent evalution report by one of our clients.

Not bad, eh.

Lights, Camera, Action!

2011-01-26T10:31:00.001Z

If you're interested in what we get up to, or are generally bored and want something to do, check out our new video channel!

If we were made of chocolate, we'd eat ourselves!

2011-01-14T16:04:00.002Z

Many thanks to Christine, who was so happy with her order, she brought us in a home baked chocolate cake.

Much yumminess!

Win an iPod!

2011-01-11T09:44:00.003Z

Don't forget that you can still win one of the latest iPod Shuffles by visiting our website and answering a simple question. We're a bit behind in updating the photo on the homepage, but don't worry, it is definately the latest model that we're giving away. Along with some iTunes vouchers to get you started off!

And if you'd prefer something bigger, we'll be giving away an iPad very soon...

Visit the web site>

Looking forward to Summer..

2011-01-07T15:11:00.002Z

It's been a difficult few weeks hasn't it. With all the snow and horrific weather, it all became rather Christmassy earlier than ever before!

We'll help you forget all about the snow and ice and plummeting tempertures as we've got 100 sticks of very summery, and completely free, Blackpool rock to give away!

Drop an email at grantm@xic.com with your name and address, and we'll pop one in the post, to help you forget!

Santa Came Early

2011-01-03T15:26:00.000Z

Santa came early..and he took loads of presents!

We had a bit of fun prior to the holiday break with our secret Santa morning. Throw in some sausage rolls and some sparkly drinks and it was like Christmas had arrived a few days early.

Chocolate lakes and fountains anyone....

2011-01-02T08:55:00.000Z

Unlike the mysterious Chocolate Factory, we don't have any Umpa Lompa's running about singing, and we certainly don't have any chocolate fountains gushing throughout the building (more the pity!). However some of our customers have never seen what goes on behind our factory gates. We're happy to show anyone round that wants to pop in, but for those that cant, here's some photos of what we really get up to.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T15:02:00.001Z

A new year and a new start to our blog!

We'd like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers a Happy New Year and to wish them all the very best for the year ahead.

Get Your free Poster.......

2010-10-21T06:30:00.000+01:00

Our Edinburgh branch still has some free poster spaces available. Just send your favourite digital photograph (remember to make sure that you own the copyright!) and we'll print it up to A2 size completely free of charge (A2 is roughly 22" x 18").

No catches, but owing to the popularity, you can only have one, and you must be able to call into the branch to collect it!

Get in touch with our Edinburgh office>

The waiting is over....

2010-10-19T11:56:00.003+01:00

We're delighted to announce that we received a very positive "commended" result in the recent PrintWeek Awards 2010 in the SME Company of the Year category.

Whilst we are disappointed to miss out on the top step, given the level of competition, we are pleased with our performance and the recognition we've achieved when taking part.

Helidecks are us....

2010-10-19T06:30:00.002+01:00

We completed an interesting project recently, which we thought we'd share. Training Competency Consultancy Ltd (TCC) is an established internationally recognised provider of training, competence assurance and consultancy services and we were happy help them with a backdrop for a new training project.

Using a supplied image of an oil platform helideck, we had it enlarged to provide a great stage backdrop. We could have done it using a standard 3x3 pop up, however we agreed with TCC to use five individual roll up banner stands to provide greater flexability with regards to the graphic and also making it much easier to transport!

Click here to read more about TCC>

You can watch how we do it here, when we were involved in a similar project.

not a fingernail in sight

2010-10-15T09:14:00.003+01:00

There's not a fingernail left in the place, as we wait anxiously the news of our bid to become SME Company of the Year in the PrintWeek Awards 2010.

We're the only Scottish company on the shortlist and we'll find out on Monday night if we've been successful!

Regrettably owing to our current workload, we're not going to be there in person, which is a bit disappointing, however we are sure we will hear quite quickly.

Here's hoping.

Show me the way to go home!

2010-10-13T08:52:00.000+01:00

One of our studio artists got a nasty surprise recently when he discovered his preferred method of transport all wrapped up!

Young Paul, our apprentice printer, took it upon himself to decorate Alex's bike (when he had a break inbetween printing jobs of course!)

Oh the mirth and merriment!

Do you have the X Factor?

2010-09-21T12:09:00.002+01:00

We're looking for the next star to join our Aberdeen team, primarily to support our Business Development Manager.

We're after someone that isn't afraid to go the “extra mile” and provide that little bit of “Je ne sais quoi” that makes our clients go WOW!

Read on>

Many thanks....

2010-09-15T08:29:00.004+01:00

Just a quick word of thanks for all the congratulations that we received yesterday following the news that we're shortlisted as a Company of the Year in the PrintWeek Awards 2010. We really appreciate that our customers take the time to get in touch.

Of course, we'll have to wait until mid-October to learn if we've been successful.......

PrintWeek Awards 2010

2010-09-14T07:30:00.002+01:00

We are delighted to announce that we have been voted a finalist in the PrintWeek 2010 Awards in the SME Company of the Year category.

The award is targeted at small to medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of the print industry. It recognises the achievements of printing companies with up to 50 staff and/or a turnover of up to £5m.

The prestigous award ceremony takes place in October at the Grosvenor Hotel in London.

Watch this space!

Happy Birthday Murray!

2010-09-13T10:46:00.002+01:00

We helped Murray celebrate his birthday last week and boy, it's been a little while since we've seen so many candles on an xic birthday cake. Fortunately the fire warden was standing by with a couple of fire extinguishers, although ultimately only needed to use one. :-)

Free Poster...

2010-09-10T10:36:00.003+01:00

If you haven't sent us your file for your free A2 print, don't leave it too late as we've only a few spaces left!

For those with a sceptic mind and wondering where the catch lies, there isn't one! All you have to do is send us your file and then pop into the branch to pick it up again.

Simples!

Send your PDF or jpeg file to orders@xic.com along with your name, telephone number and address

Get Your free Poster.......

2010-09-08T10:27:00.003+01:00

Just back from holiday and managed to bag yourself that once-in-a-lifetime, 'right place at the right time' photograph that everyone dreams of taking? Or maybe you've got a favourite photograph of the family at Christmas? Or perhaps a logo that you'd like enlarged for your reception wall. Well, send us your file and, if it's amongst the first 50 files we receive, we'll enlarge it up to A2 size (that's about 22" x 16" in old money) and you can have it for nothing.

Seriously!

You can display your new art on your lounge wall, your dining room wall, or even your office wall, and all you have to do is send us a PDF or jpeg of your choice and we'll provide you with a super high quality (think 'HD') A2 print within 48 hours, absolutely free!

OK, well there's bound to be a catch isn't there. Well not really, however owing to the popularity of the offer, you can only have one! Also, you'll need to arrange to collect it from either our Edinburgh or Aberdeen branch as we won't be offering our usual free delivery.

Additionally, they will be printed directly from the file you supply so we won't be doing any colour management or adjustment on them, but we will use a quality 190gsm PhotoSatin material.

So there you go. What are you waiting for? Send your details and your file now to orders@xic.com or visit xic at Graphix House, Wellington Circle, Altens, AB12 3JG or 61 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4NA

Remember, we'll only be providing a free A2 print to the first 50 customers!

Begin as we mean to continue..

2010-08-31T07:30:00.001+01:00

So we've started off the second part of the year as we mean to continue...and that can only mean one thing!

CAKE!!!

It was Gavin's birthday yesterday (he claims to be 34 but we're not convinced) so we took the opportunity to indulge in our favourite passtime.

And yes, that really is our table cloth in the staff room :-)

Tangerines will soon be back in season...

2010-08-30T07:30:00.002+01:00

So it's been almost a month since our last post, and so much has happened in this time! We've said cheerio to John and to Stefan, who have moved on to pastures new, and we've said hello to Paul, who joins us in production.

We've helped Donna celebrate 20 years of service, we've given our Edinburgh branch a mini-makeover, we've seen some friends audition on the X-Factor, we've signed a new contract for reprographic services with a local company, invested a considerable amount in a stack of new large format equipment and finally, 5 weeks early, welcomed Lorna (whose dad works in our Aberdeen branch) into the world on 12th August.

That's the end of the Summer Holidays

2010-08-26T16:29:00.002+01:00

That's the end of the summer break, so we'll be back to normal on Monday with all our latest news and updates!

Another Friday..another cake or two..

2010-07-30T15:27:00.003+01:00

Now, the casual observer might think this is how we have lunch every day and they'd almost be right. Apart from the home bakes and the grapes, that's pretty much a normal xic Friday lunch. :-)

Nah, we had to do something a little bit special today as our colleague Donna celebrated her 20th year of service. Well done Donna and congratulations from all your colleagues at xic.

You'll get a big surprise...

2010-07-29T07:30:00.004+01:00

If you go down to our branch today, you're sure of a big surprise

If you go down to our branch today, no need to go in disguise as you're always welcome.

Our Edinburgh branch has had a mini-make over, based around our new A-Z theme. If you require any printing in Edinburgh, then give us a call on 0131 226 2913 and let us know what you think about our mini make over!

What a great way to get to work..

2010-07-28T08:00:00.003+01:00

Like many of us, Lynsey, our Edinburgh Branch Manager, stays outwith the city but works in the city centre, so has the daily commute to look forward to. Mile upon mile of slow moving traffic isn't the best way to start the day!

However Lynsey has found a great way to get to work in the morning and has been taking lessons!

Children of the 80's!

2010-07-27T08:29:00.004+01:00

One of our customers, Martin from Mosiac Information Solutions, recently took part in an endurance karting event against the likes of the Williams, Virgin and Renault F1 teams.

Team Yoshi Racing (clearly children of the 80's) made it up to 3rd place at one point during the 12 hour event, and were it not for a lost rear wheel, a stuck accelerator and a broken transponder, losing them 14 laps in the pits for repairs, they almost certainly would have finished better than their 14th place.

Martin also took part in the inaugural XIC Grand Prix back in November, so the practise was clearly worthwhile!

Well done Martin and all at Yoshi Racing.

Fancy winning an iPad?

2010-07-26T07:30:00.001+01:00

Then you're going to have to keep an eye on our blog....

Tweet, Tweet!

2010-07-25T08:29:00.001+01:00

Well, we've gone and done it. We've finally joined the on-line revolution that is Twitter and Facebook! Now you really can follow our every move...if that's what floats your boat!

We've also opened up all the comments options on Twitter, Facebook and our daily blog, so if you want to comment on our scribes, our people, or our service, feel free (but be kind as we're sensitive souls)

Click to jump to Twitter>
Click to jump to Facebook>
Click to jump to our blog (you'll just end up back here!)>

Career Opportunities at xic....

2010-07-23T16:06:00.001+01:00

We have an immediate requirement for a sales executive in our Aberdeen office to enhance our successful and hard-working sales team. The role would suit an outstanding graduate or similar with some experience of telephone sales who is looking to kick start a sales career.

Responsible for maximising revenue from a core client base, maintaining existing relationships as well as pro-actively sourcing new business. You will be a determined, self-motivated can-do individual who is directly responsible for the management and growth of their own client base. Good presenting and face to face skills are essential for this position. To help achieve expected targets we have minimum productivity expectations.

We're also after a trainee printer/finisher and an experienced graphic designer.

Fancy it?, read more>

2011 Calendars...Now Available!

2010-07-22T07:30:00.001+01:00

Well, we might still be a few weeks away from the end of year, but our range of 2011 calendars is now available. We've got a fantastic range and stocks are currently good.

Be amongst the first 50 orders, and we'll give you a 10% discount. But only if you're one of the first 50 orders!

Check out the dedicated calendar site in full by clicking here...

We must be doing something right!

2010-07-21T11:51:00.001+01:00

We're received a pile of new testimonials recently so clearly we're doing something right.

Here are a few snippets........

"You're not going to believe this, however we only need one change! Please let the design team know they were spot on with their design".
Jackie Burke, Energy Ventures.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for the excellent service tht you have provided when we came to sort out our company branding".
Mark Taylor, Lockfast Security.

"After a visit to your premises to look at your systems, you provided a quotation which saved a substantial amount of money. This, coupled with the professional way in which you dealt with the enquiry, gave the confidence to award XIC the contract".
Peter Major, West End Business Systems.

You can read some more here>

We're open!

2010-07-12T05:27:00.002+01:00

Whilst our Aberdeen office is closed today for the local Aberdeen holiday, our Edinburgh office is open as usual for all your printing and copying requirements. Telephone 0131 226 2913

Time to celebrate...

2010-07-09T16:36:00.004+01:00

The good news is, our email appears to be back up and working again. You can contact us again in the usual way!

Thanks for your patience and apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Disaster Averted...

2010-07-09T07:30:00.001+01:00

Last Friday, we said Cheerio, Cheerio, Cheerio to John as he meandered off into the distance to start his own business. It was also Jill's birthday, so we celebrated both occasions with a BBQ finished off with a lovely ice cream cake..maybe not the best idea for a hot summers day. But with our love of all things cake, it didn't get a chance to melt, and thus a potential disaster was averted!

Important Email Update

2010-07-08T21:02:00.006+01:00

Well, that's more than 48 hours we've been without our email. Our phone company and our local ISP continue to point the finger at one another and we've got 2 days worth of emails hanging around in cyberspace somewhere!

Unfortunately, the situation is out of our control and we are just having to sit tight whilst they battle it out. We are in the process of making alternative arrangements although it could be a few hours yet before we're working again.

None of the emails that we've sent since Tuesday night have been delivered and our inboxes are starved of emails.

You can contact our Edinburgh branch using this alternative address: xicedinburgh@gmail.com

No email!

2010-07-07T16:52:00.001+01:00

Apologies if you've been trying to contact us by email today. A failure with our ISP server means we've had no incoming or outgoing email traffic. Sorry for the inconvenience and hopefully we'll be back to normal shortly!

Time to say goodbye...

2010-07-01T20:48:00.005+01:00

After 25 years service, our colleague John has decided to call it a day and is heading off into the sunset to pastures new.

As we look back over the last 25 years, we all join to wish John all the best and every success in his new venture.

It's Child's Play......

2010-06-28T05:27:00.003+01:00

Today, we're telling you all about the full A-Z! Our latest quarterly calendars are also available today, so if you want one, just give us a call. They're free to any UK address!

WARNING: contains strobe lighting effects.

Important Date...

2010-06-25T10:54:00.003+01:00

Keep an eye on the blog for the next few days, as we have some important information coming up soon!

Untill then, have a great weekend!

Another day...

2010-06-24T10:59:00.008+01:00

Well it's another day, which can mean only one thing...it must be another birthday!

Woohoo...cake!

Ed in our Edinburgh office is celebrating the twilight years of his 20's before making that next huge step.

We're guessing he's a big fan of the Stig.

Have a great day Ed!

Happy Birthday Claire

2010-06-23T16:49:00.004+01:00

We always like it when there's a birthday because it means only one thing....CAKE!

Happy Birthday Claire. We hope you've had a great day.

Walked the Walk!

2010-06-22T12:12:00.003+01:00

They did it! Our colleagues Claire and Jill completed the 26 mile overnight "Moonwalk" in Edinburgh at the weekend, and in doing so raised over £900 with more still to come!

We are all so proud of their achievements. We did try and get Jill to flash her bruise, but as soon as the camera appeared, she went all shy. Most strange, as she was keen to show it to everyone before hand!

Anyway, well done to Claire, Jill and everyone else that took part.

It's not too late to sponsor or make a contribution!

Busted.out@XIC

2010-06-18T11:57:00.002+01:00

Claire and Jill are taking part in the Edinburgh Moonwalk this weekend. If you don't know about it, it's a marathon walk throughout Saturday night into Sunday morning.

It's not too late to sponsor them and help a great cause

Click to sponsor>

She's a winner!!

2010-06-02T13:43:00.005+01:00

Many congratulations to Sally Skakle of the Peterhead Port Authority who won a new iPod Shuffle in our last free prize draw.

Our lastest draw is now active and we think we've made the question even easier!

The Team go Paint Balling.

2010-06-01T10:19:00.003+01:00

Following on from our paint-balling at the weekend, there is now a video on line of our escapades! (It's not one of ours, but you get the idea).

The competition we have going on now, is who has the best bruises!

What fun we have.

Watch it here>

Would you trust this lot...??!!

2010-05-31T16:15:00.008+01:00

It is clear that this pic of our paintballing team was taken on Saturday before it all started, as there is no way that they were smiling afterwards! Look closely and you'll see a number of nervous faces.

Not surprisingly, there were a few bruises at the end. Check out this photograph, you know it just had to sting a bit!

As Ed pointed out, the memories will last a lifetime, just like the bruises!

Moose Mat Nice!

2010-05-26T07:30:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Rob who sent us this terrific response to our recent mouse mat pad video!

If you haven't seen it yet, see below or watch it here>

Wowzers..what a great response!

2010-05-25T07:46:00.004+01:00

We've had some great feedback about our mouse mat pad video that we launched yesterday!

"very creative video. It's an excellent sales piece promoting your firm's creative ideas and production. Well done!"

"That's clever"

"Fantastic! Bravo!"

"Very well done"

"your staff have talent"

"Love it"

If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for!!

See it here>

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

2010-05-24T07:30:00.006+01:00

Is it a bird?, Is it a plane? No, it's an XIC mouse mat pad! Eh?

Yeh, OK, so it doesn't make much sense, but we wanted something witty to start off the week!

Is it a mouse mat? Yes it is! Is it a note pad? Yes it is! It's both!

It's sort of a mouse mat, but with a built in note pad..sort of.

Watch the following video...it explains it all!

Or watch me on YouTube>

We must be doing something right..2!

2010-05-18T12:31:00.003+01:00

We've recevied some new testimonials which we've just uploaded to our web site. Many thanks to those customers that take the time to thank us for our efforts!

"Thank you very much for all the print-outs. Layout of the brochures and business cards is perfect and print quality is outstanding - we were delighted! Half of the brochures have been taken for an oil exhibition in Egypt, and they are a valuable marketing tool for CIE. Overall, XIC has played a major role in Completion & Intervention Engineering Ltd rebranding strategy and has performed superbly. CIE would like to build a long-term relationship with XIC and we look forward to further cooperation".
Piotr Erchard

Open again shortly!

2010-05-03T05:27:00.000+01:00

Both of our branches are closed today. We'll be open again as normal in the morning.

A couple of new recruits for Edinburgh..

2010-04-26T10:42:00.002+01:00

We recently took on a couple of new recruits in our Edinburgh branch. They're a lot of fun, but they don't seem to get much work done...

We love this!

2010-04-18T21:06:00.002+01:00

PRINT GROWS TREES....The Facts!

2010-04-14T15:40:00.002+01:00

Ever noticed those little "Do Not Print unless necessary" or "Think before you Print" warnings at the bottoms of emails you receive? They warn you that printing your A4 sheet will bring doom and disaster to the world.

Hm. Really?

Well, how about you think before you don't print! Seriously!

Read this>

Take Our Survey

2010-04-08T14:49:00.001+01:00

We'd love to hear what you think about our Blog.

Please take a few moment to complete our short survey.

Thank you

We're open!...well one of us is!

2010-04-03T05:27:00.001+01:00

Our Aberdeen office is open on Easter Monday (unless we have chocolate poisoning with all the Easter eggs we're eating!).

However our Edinburgh office will be closed until Tuesday morning!

Aberdeen Opening Hours & Contact Details

Edinburgh Opening Hours & Contact Details

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T09:14:00.001+01:00

Our Giant Easter Bunny

2010-04-01T09:02:00.000+01:00

Many congratulations to Ali McCulloch of Ampersand who won our Giant Easter Bunny in our Easter Joke Competition with the following entry:

Why did the Easter Egg hide? He was a little chicken!

Our bunny is hopping its way to Ali at the moment.

Welcome to Summer.......!

2010-03-31T08:09:00.002+01:00

Anyway, British Summer Time started last Sunday when the clocks changed. So we suppose that's a cue for some more snow! (by the way, that's our latest delivery van waiting to go down to our Edinburgh branch)

Only 2 days left....

2010-03-29T08:45:00.002+01:00

There's only 2 days left in our current iPod Shuffle draw.

Click here for your chance to win

Visit the web site for the terms and conditions that apply.

Lots of envelopes to get through...

2010-03-26T08:18:00.000Z

Having spent the last few days printing and preparing a clients order, today we start collating and stuffing it! Of course, we're not being rude, even if it sounds like it. Nah, we're collating the order and literally stuffing it into an envelope for posting.

Whilst we offer this service from both our Edinburgh and Aberdeen branches, the actual printing and finishing is done in Aberdeen, as the main Royal Mail sorting office in right next door.

Cold, Wet & Tired!

2010-03-25T14:38:00.002Z

This little fellow turned up in our car park, cold, wet and alone. But being the good folks that we are, we took him in and nursed him back to health (actually we sat him on top of the radiator until he dried out)

Problem is, we don't know where he came from or who he belongs to. We'll certainly contine to look after him until his real owner comes forward to claim him.

What's he thinking......?

2010-03-12T08:44:00.003Z

Can't really remember what was going on here!

Maybe John had just remembered he'd left the iron on...or maybe he'd just seen the chocolate bunnies breeding again...or even just heard the punchline of one of Murray's dodgy jokes!

Either way, we're open to suggestions!

Just list your best captions below, and don't worry, you can remain anonymous if you like!

Chocolate Bunnies....They're beginning to breed!

2010-03-05T14:29:00.003Z

Thanks to everyone who's been sending us Easter Jokes. There are a few of our favourites on our web site.

It's really hard work surrounded by all this chocolate, especially as they're starting to breed! We only started off with two, and now we're into double figures! If only we'd just eaten them.

Anyway, we've got them all safely stored in our meeting room, until the time comes for them to go their own way.

Remember to send us your favourite Easter joke to grantm@xic.com or directly to our Twitter page.