The company was formed as a result of the Largs and Millport Weekly News closing its production plant at 120 Main Street, Largs and moving to the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald's new print plant in Herald Street, Ardrossan. Two employees saw the opportunity to continue the printing facility in Largs and, in late 1969, Tom McCaw and Allister McGregor created a partnership to form LPC. Tom and Allis
ter re-opened the "wee" paper's former premises and set about sourcing typesetting and printing machinery from various suppliers in Glasgow. Largs Printing Company launched on 4th January 1970 and immediately businesses and clubs in Largs supported the new venture. In those early days all printing was done by the traditional Letterpress system and in 1974 the company bought its first Offset Litho machine. This proved to be a timely purchase as in that year not one but two General Elections were held, and the new machine was put to full use in producing all the various leaflets for the candidates. With the purchase of new machines the production facility was increased and, in 1985, Billy Winning joined the partnership. The 1980s saw the start of the digital revolution in printing and Largs Printing Company responded to this challenge by upgrading its machinery: the first computer-controlled typesetting machine arrived in 1981 allowing larger and more complicated colour work to be printed. Tom McCaw and Billy Winning retired as partners in the early 1990s and Allister and his wife Kate ran the business until they were joined in the late 1990s by their eldest son Scott and, more recently, by Scott's brother Stuart. Scott and Stuart are both experienced and award-winning graphic designers having trained at the Glasgow College of Building and Printing and Glasgow Caledonian University. Largs Printing Company continued to upgrade its machinery and, in 2002, moved online under the moniker www.surfprint.co.uk. The website allowed LPC to trade nationally and led to an increased amount of business from down south, especially from London. LPC has continued to expand and today offers a comprehensive design and printing service for all types of businesses (letterheads, leaflets, business cards, etc.) and also for individuals (wedding stationery, party invitations, personalised notelets/stationery, etc.) LPC also produces calendars, not just for Largs, but for several towns and cities throughout Scotland. LPC can also produce magazines and books, and offer special deals to individuals who wish to publish their own material. As well as all the above, LPC has recently started offering website design, large format poster printing and garment printing. By constantly updating its machinery and continuing to provide a quality service to local businesses, clubs and individuals, LPC seems well set for another 50 years!
