Minuteman Press Franchise in Dunfermline, Scotland Rallies Community and Celebrates 14 Years

Bounce Back Dunfermline (part of Bounce Back UK) s a free service to support local businesses, providing free business listings and COVID-19 awareness and prevention posters to support local business.

Please note: Portions of this article were written earlier in 2020 before COVID-19.

Earlier in 2020 and fresh from winning an award for marketing service from Nick Titus, President of Minuteman Press International, Iain Gosman had never been more enthusiastic to depart the franchisor’s UK Regional Meeting for home to his centre in Dunfermline, Scotland.

“The content of our regional meetings has been increasingly insightful and this year, we have a new President who is a natural for the digital age. I am pleased with the wealth of experience and the excitement that World Headquarters brought to franchise owners here. It allows us to stay sharp, current and go further to bring value to our customers,” he says.

The Minuteman Press franchise brand is gaining renewed praise across the United Kingdom and around the world thanks to their free Bounce Back initiative that gives a boost to businesses in their local communities. Bounce Back UK provides free local listings and COVID-19 awareness posters, and Bounce Back Dunfermline is the local community website that Iain has embraced to support local businesses. The Bounce Back program already has 10,000 participating businesses and continues to grow as Minuteman Press strives to give back during this unprecedented time.

Getting started and building the business over 14 years

The UK knows Minuteman Press is an ally in the B2B industry as a result of the dedication of the best franchise owners. For 14 years, Iain and his team at Minuteman Press in Dunfermline have built their business and earned their clients’ trust as design, marketing and printing industry leaders

“We opened our doors in 2006 and we were a brand-new Minuteman Press franchise in Scotland, so we needed to cover overheads and go get the jobs, just like every business owner must do. I have the will to win and it drives me to always find ways to expand what we offer to our community. We are invested in local business and follow-through when we make promises. As we grow bigger, so do our clients,” Iain says with hometown pride.

As a Minuteman Press franchise owner, Iain can rightly say We Are The Modern Printing Industry and he is pleased with the resulting growth from his own hard work and entrepreneurial spirit. Even during times of economic recession in 2008, Iain was able to show his “mental toughness” and utilise the ongoing support and power of the proven franchise system of operations to overcome those challenges. He explains, 

“The phones rang less and we drew in our purse strings, knowing that as we had a harder time so did our fellow business owners, our clients. So, I looked at products that would be most likely to help us all and must say that traditional print like business cards, stationery and flyers absolutely work. We developed discounts for preferred products in our local B2B community and encouraged people to keep marketing to fight the recession. This approach helped all of us grow enough to get through that time and afterwards, we hired a new sales person and we expanded further into industries like construction as we can print construction plan drawings.”

Dave Watson is Minuteman Press International Area Manager for the UK North Region in Scotland. Dave says,

“Congratulations to Iain and his entire team for receiving the marketing award at our UK regional meetings earlier in 2020. Iain has successfully built his Minuteman Press franchise in Dunfermline over 14 years and I am thrilled to see his hard work paying off.”

Growing the Minuteman Press franchise in Dunfermline in the printing industry today

Minuteman Press in Dunfermline is now well-known and well-regarded for their award-winning marketing and printing capabilities. Iain says,

“Today, we are handling various other printed collateral and the economy is more favourable. For instance, with one contract, we supply shopping malls throughout Scotland with branded t-shirts, trousers, jackets, polo shirts and more security and cleaning staff. Scotland has about ten shopping malls and we supply most of them with branded clothing.”

Iain’s new equipment includes ways for brands to take print beyond paper and into the hands of just the right people such as his HP wide-format printer.

“I have two wide-format printers now as I bought a latex machine that takes our new products and service offerings to the next level. We produce banners, flags, labels for jars and bottles (ready to be peeled and affixed); plus, we have a dye sublimation machine for branded garments and things like mugs as well as the ability to cut printed material into unique shapes, on-demand and in-house. We can cut any shape using whatever material is desired.”

Agile and capable with new technology in-house, Iain is ready for any challenge presented by his customers and this served well when he was approached by a large UK wide quarry and construction materials company to see if his centre could solve an ongoing print problem.

“Government regulations demanded they complete a ‘Retorque Record Tag’ and attach to the wheel of any vehicle which had been re-torqued in the process of a wheel or tyre change. With over 500 heavy vehicles in their fleet, this was a massive undertaking and the main problem was the tags they were currently using were constantly becoming separated from the wheels whilst they were being repaired.”

Iain’s task was to produce a tag that, as he says, “would have to be virtually indestructible, printed full colour both sides with two removable self-adhesive numbered labels to be incorporated within the tag.” That’s not all, as he explains,

“We would need to drill one hole and the tag itself had to be numbered the same sequence as the labels. Marketing ourselves as a print solutions company, we took up the challenge. We sourced a plastic based material able to be digitally printed, designed the tag to be DL size, printed and numbered a batch of ‘piggyback’ labels, numbered the DL tag, then applied the labels to the section within the tag. JOB DONE. The client was absolutely delighted and continue to use our design to this day.”

“We provided 250 branded aluminum bottles for a company in England and then shipped them to the Caribbean where they helped promote a highly popular chain of hotels in that area as well as Mexico. Our versatility is greatly appreciated as we put the most brilliant parts of the printing industry to work for clients in the UK.” – Iain Gosman

Minuteman Press in Dunfermline is the go-to place for those in need of plan drawings, posters and is capable of far more than the general public may realise.

“The quality of the print we are producing in-house from the vibrancy of the colors to the durability of the product continually amazes new clients and serves well our regular customer base. At times, we are asked to print 700-800 A1 plans at a time and we keep that running while the other machine cuts, so we can stack and deliver without delay.”

These days, Iain and his staff at Minuteman Press in Dunfermline keep collecting high praise for their efforts and they are enjoying what may come their way in terms of new projects every day. In fact, it may just be his favourite part of being a marketing services expert.

“The most enjoyable part of my career is the fact that we don’t have a mundane type of day. It is never the same. The next order could be a new brand that needs our help with design and strategy or a current client that wishes to rebrand. No matter the request, Minuteman Press centres are developing into areas that exceed everyone’s expectations. We are much more than traditional print and we do so much in-house now.”

For more information about the Minuteman Press franchise opportunity, visit the profile page.