Brilliant Prints is based in the Brisbane suburb of Inala with offshore sites in Asia and now England. It produces canvas prints locally using its fleet of Epson 11880 wide-format machines.

Managing director Liam Tovey told ProPrint that international demand had led them to set up facilities in Manilla and Singapore in 2008, then establish in the UK market with assistance from the UK trade body.

“So far it is going really well. We’ve set up in Essex, which is a fairly low socio-economic area, so the rent is fairly cheap and we take a lot of orders online,” he said.

“We’ve separated ourselves from competitors by focusing on producing a really good quality product and putting a lot of energy into customer service,” added Tovey.

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is encouraging Australian printers to follow suit with a competition for businesses on both sides of the Tasman to win a $25,000 support package.

Richard Morris, UKTI director general in Australia and New Zealand, said now is the right time for Australian businesses to expand into the UK.

“The UK is the easiest place in Europe to do business and has the least barriers to entrepreneurship in the world,” he said.

“Just as Australia can be a gateway to Asia, the UK is the gateway to Europe and a combined population of around 500 million people,” Mr Morris said.

Click here for details of the competition.

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