A sign of the times for Peterborough firm:

A long-established printing company that saw sales plunge after lockdown has found a lifeline in the growing need for social distancing signage.

Family-owned Fisherprint, in Padholme Road East, says a surge of orders to print signage and leaflets promoting social distancing in supermarkets, shopping centres, garden centres, coffee shops and factories has helped save the company and its 65 staff.

Viv Lavender, group sales director for the 73-year-old firm, said: “Sales just went off a cliff overnight on March 23. We had to look at new ways of working but it has not been without pain.

“There was a lot of suffering in boardroom meetings as we wondered what were we going to do. After much discussion we decided to try and focus on manufacturing to our strengths with products the country would need and also hopefully promoting British manufacturing.

“We had furloughed 25 per cent of our staff but they are now steadily being brought back.

“We are working six days for 12 hours or five days around the clock because of the demands of social distancing.

“The pharmaceutical sector has been our saviour, with the NHS and Government asking us to print many leaflets.

“Shopping centres clearly have huge plans for their eventual reopening and we have been supplying social distancing signage for all the shopping centres, including Queensgate and Serpentine Green in Peterborough.”

Fisherprint has also been printing cards for free for the NHS that patients can use to write to their families.

Some of the social distancing signs, above left, and staff packaging leaflets for the healthcare sector, above right.

Printing underway in the Fisherprint factory.