This month marks one year since Liz and Luke took ownership of Printasleeve.
For us, it feels like an important milestone – but also only one chapter in a much longer story.
Printasleeve has been supplying specialist sleeving, cable identification, printing and cutting solutions since 1987, meaning the business itself celebrates its 40th anniversary next year. Today, we continue to support customers with everything from custom printing and precision cutting to heatshrink, braided sleeving, electrical insulation products and print consumables.
Over the past year, our aim hasn’t been to change Printasleeve for the sake of it but to preserve the knowledge, service and product expertise our customers value while finding practical ways to make the company more efficient, sustainable and responsive.
The same expertise, with a fresh approach
Although ownership changed in September 2025, Liz and Luke certainly weren’t new to Printasleeve.
Luke joined the company at 18 as an apprentice and has worked his way through the business, developing particular expertise in printing and production before ultimately becoming an owner in his thirties.
Liz joined Printasleeve after studying languages and economics at degree level. Eighteen years later, having learned virtually every aspect of the business, she became a co-owner too. Her particular strength lies in problem solving. First ascertaining exactly what a customer needs, she uses her extensive product knowledge to recommend just the right solution.
Between them, Liz and Luke now bring around 35 years of Printasleeve experience to the business.
That continuity matters. Our customers still have direct access to people who understand the products, processes and applications involved. Whether an enquiry concerns printing, cutting, materials, lead times or a more unusual technical requirement, Liz or Luke is only a phone call or email away.
That personal approach remains central to Printasleeve. Our wider range continues to serve customers across sectors including automotive, aerospace, military, marine, mass transit, communications, infrastructure and utilities.
Making Printasleeve more sustainable
One of our biggest areas of focus during our first year has been the environmental impact of the business.
We have changed our packaging, introducing branded boxes from a supplier with a strong sustainability focus, and moved from conventional plastic packaging tape to paper tape.
We are also working to recycle as much waste as possible and continually looking at ways to reduce unnecessary material use throughout the business.
These changes form part of a broader commitment to making Printasleeve more environmentally responsible. Earlier this year, we shared more about our approach to reducing waste, reviewing packaging and improving the sustainability of our operations in Printasleeve’s Path to Sustainability. Read about our sustainability journey.
There is always more that can be done, but our approach is to make practical changes that can be maintained rather than make promises we can’t substantiate.
A better home for the business
We have also moved Printasleeve into premises that are better suited to the size and needs of the company.
The new unit has better insulation and, importantly, allows the whole operation to work from one building. This has made organising stock, production and day-to-day operations considerably easier.
For customers, the benefit is ultimately about efficiency: better organisation internally helps us respond to enquiries, source products and fulfil orders more effectively.
Maintaining and building on our quality standards
While we were in the process of buying Printasleeve, we also successfully achieved ISO certification.
During our first year of ownership we have continued to maintain those standards and successfully pass the required annual checks. We are now looking at further accreditations that could strengthen the business and provide additional reassurance to customers.
Printasleeve already supplies products conforming to a wide range of industry standards and approvals, depending on the material and application. View Printasleeve approvals and compliant products.
Stronger supplier relationships
Another less visible but important part of the past year has been strengthening our relationships with suppliers.
Specialist materials aren’t always sitting on a shelf waiting to be ordered, and delays further up the supply chain can quickly become delays for the customer.
By working more closely with our supplier network, we are continually trying to improve availability, reduce sourcing delays and give customers clearer information about what is achievable and when.
Helping customers with more than just sleeving
One of our priorities for the future is to continue broadening the ways in which we can support customers.
Printasleeve has always specialised in custom printing and cutting, but our role increasingly extends beyond supplying a single finished product. Explore our printing and cutting services.
That could mean helping a customer identify the right material, supplying consumables, solving a cutting requirement, printing onto specialist substrates or helping them establish an in-house printing solution.
We’re investing time in understanding where we can make customers’ lives easier and where adding a new product or service genuinely makes sense.
That includes continuing to develop tools such as our Design Your Own Heatshrink service, which allows customers to select their sleeve, upload artwork, add text or branding and submit a customised requirement directly to us. Design your own heatshrink.
What haven’t we changed?
Just as importantly, there are plenty of things we deliberately haven’t changed.
We have retained the existing Printasleeve product range and the flexibility to support both large and small requirements. The business continues to specialise in custom printing, cutting and a broad range of heatshrink, braided and electrical insulating sleeving solutions.
We’re exploring new products, additional colours and ways of making existing options more cost-effective, but not at the expense of the products and services customers already rely on.
And most importantly, we haven’t lost the knowledge behind the company.
One year down, 40 years approaching
Our first year as owners has involved plenty of work behind the scenes: moving premises, improving sustainability, maintaining accreditation, strengthening supply chains and looking carefully at where Printasleeve can improve.
We want to combine the experience of a company approaching four decades in business with the energy to keep improving it.
As we head towards Printasleeve’s 40th anniversary in 2027, we’re incredibly grateful to the customers, suppliers and colleagues who have been part of the journey so far.
And we’re looking forward to what comes next.
If you have a printing, cutting, sleeving or cable identification requirement – straightforward or otherwise – we’re always happy to help. Get in touch with Printasleeve.
