A Life In Ink (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)
The next stop for John was Associated Trapinex/Mc- Corquodale Group. They were screen and litho printers making their own inks, and one of the first companies in Europe to manufacture credit cards. It was during this time that John was introduced to Rupert Cawthorne, a suppli- er to Associated of forced hot air dryers for screen print- ing. They became very good friends and would sit over a beer discussing what the future of the world would be, and what they thought would be around forever. They de- cided that printing would never go away and that liquid or paste inks were the only way to successfully transfer ink to substrates at speed. And the faster you wanted to run the quicker you had to dry the ink. It was at Associated that he would experience a setback that would in turn be the launching pad for a very indepen-
dent and successful career. “I had been promoted from Chief Chemist to Production Manager. We were printing John Bird in fine form in 1985 at Print 85 in Chicago.
a very intricate credit card job which went wrong, so, ‘Good-bye Johnny!’ and I found myself jobless for the first time. On the way home that day I decided I needed to start my own company. What else could I do. I al- ways considered myself unemployable be- cause I don’t participate in politics within a company. It delays or halts progress. If you want to get it done, you just do it.” At about the same time Rupert Caw- thorne had left the company in which he was a shareholder. Rupert had the equip- ment and the money they needed. They teamed up with a third partner, David Nix- on, and started their own company, Col- ordry. “We had £100,000, which was a lot of money back then. Within five years our sales were at £5,000,000.” John attests to the fact that starting your own business is a lot of hard work. In his opinion, to be successful you need to be dedicated, you need to be at it every day, you need a product or service that is differ- ent, and “Above all else an understanding and loving spouse like my wife of 58 years, Sandra. She’s the mortar that holds all the bricks together.” John credits Colordry for changing the litho industry by being one of the first to bring shortwave IR drying and UV curing to the litho process in Europe and the United States. He came to the United States for the first time in 1980 and it was love at first sight. He says he witnessed an honesty and trust that he had never seen before. Unlike many of the American TV shows they had seen in the UK, people were friendly and wel- coming. “They were good people, and they weren’t concerned with where you came
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April 24, 2023
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