In 1995, now more than 25 years ago, a dream was born: the launch of own business. It was down to our determination and perseverance that it eventually came true. We will forever hold in our memories the moment we shook hands on the day our company was formed.
We started off as a small computer equipment retail outfit and, as time went by, added graphic design to the range of our services. We also invited some exceptional talent, industry experts and passionate enthusiasts that we have worked hard with to learn the secrets of design and printing.
We entered the world of printing four years later by investing in our first device for electronic printing plate production, which included an imagesetter. Our next purchase was a CTP system used for direct digital imaging onto a printing plate.
The company’s growth and the pressing need for larger premises led us to take the decision to invest big again and build our own facility – a factory building with integrated offices. This was 2007.
We set our goal on both book printing and binding and as a result have established a modern digital printing outfit with extensive bookbinding facilities that use the most advanced technology available to provide a comprehensive service.
We have been introducing and implementing the latest technology for more than 25 years now. We are continuously improving our work processes and qualifications. We have gained the necessary experience and now hold an established and strong position on the printing market. Nevertheless, we are always open to new challenges.
We are always on the lookout for new solutions as development is of key importance to us. We are not afraid to work hard every day. We are aware that engaging our entire team in our operations is what makes it possible for us to always guarantee the highest quality of services and satisfaction of our customers. And this is precisely what we care about the most. There is nothing we could not do at the moment.
Faced with digitalization, electronic communications and a demanding pace of life, we offer innovative solutions that enable publishers to quickly and efficiently print smaller print volumes of top digital quality.
One of the key factors affecting the decision on selecting a printing house is the quality of services and goods offered. Therefore, we make informed decisions and undertake steps aimed at meeting our customers’ needs and requirements, thus ensuring their full satisfaction. We strive for our company to be seen as a reliable and trustworthy partner and for our products to be of the highest quality possible.
In our daily operations quality management is applied by:
Consideration for the planetWe strive to operate exercising the greatest care possible for the environment and natural resources. We have been minimizing the negative impact that production of books has on the world around us for many years now. We believe that, as far as our future is concerned, even the smallest actions matter, yielding measurable benefits for nature. We use eco-friendly materials, reduce usage of foil in our production processes, and prefer energy-saving printing and bookbinding systems. We recycle. We use energy-saving lighting and heating systems. We promote an eco-friendly lifestyle among our staff.
We use 100% green energy generated from renewable energy sources (hydropower plants, photovoltaics, as well as wind farms and biogas plants).
We care for the forestWe hold FSC® certification designed for, amongst others, manufacturers from within the timber, paper, printing and publishing industries. It is an assurance for our business partners that the materials used in the book and other material production process come from properly managed forests, controlled sources, reclaimed and recycled materials, or are a combination thereof.
In our effort to support responsible forest management, we have adapted our production cycle to the needs arising under balanced and sustainable development.
At Totem.com.pl, investing in innovative products and always searching for the latest technological solutions goes hand in hand with positively affecting numerous areas of our life. This manifests itself through our continuous striving to minimize our impact on the natural environment and supporting the growth of local communities.
Our policy in respect of equality between men and women and non-discrimination in employment is implemented in line with Art. 16 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006. We offer employment to potential candidates without any discrimination based on age, gender, racial or ethnic origin, faith, disability or sexual orientation. We are offering unrestricted and free access to work to both men and women where the only criteria for employing a candidate are their qualifications and professional experience.
There are positions within the company where no experience is necessary, which is why it opens employment opportunities to graduates. Our new employees are guaranteed equal working conditions, remuneration adequate to the qualifications and professional experience held, access to training aimed at improvement of their professional qualifications, as well as promotion opportunities. We strive to provide equal opportunities by, amongst others, applying flexible employment formats and facilitating personal development of our staff by providing them with access to training, internships and continued education, as well as contributing to travel costs, notifying our staff of the consequences of working within the ‘grey economy, provision of honest and reliable information as regards employee rights, and in particular the right to receive the same pay as others for work of the same value.
We collaborate with numerous companies, both Polish and foreign. We strive to maintain positive business relations with all of them basing our collaboration on trust and respect, which in our opinion are key values essential in achieving success. We value long-term relations that last for many years. Our business partners include suppliers (of equipment and materials) and clients: publishing houses of diverse profiles.At the moment we regularly collaborate with more than 200 publishing houses in Poland and Europe (export represents 60% of our production) as well as many suppliers of latest-generation digital printing and bookbinding equipment, where our closest contacts include Konica Minolta, Canon Oce and Hunkeler. Our permanent and reliable supplier of paper is Arctic Paper S.A., Europe’s leading manufacturer of high-bulk book paper and high-quality graphic paper.
Meaningful relationships based on trust and mutual understanding are important in every industry. I believe that this is particularly true for the printing industry as it is shaped by two important characteristics: relatively high level of long-term expenditure and liquid market structures with changing client needs.The increasing number of publications and the speed at which they are marketed means faster printing. In turn, personalisation and consumer-focused service lead to smaller print runs.The desire to stand out in the saturated world of printing services increases the need to introduce new technologies and services while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Having a partner who really understands clients’ needs is crucial.At Konica Minolta, we understand that outstanding guidance, true partnership, and the ability to have a two-way discussion are now as important as providing effective technical solutions.This close, open and trusting relationship benefits our clients and ourselves as the experience gained from working with Totem enables us to further optimize our products and services.
Mateusz WoźniakProduction Printing Sales DirectorKonica Minolta Business Solutions Polska
Totems represent mystical bonds between people, and I think the name perfectly captures the essence of what we value most about working with this organization. Naturally, they are a modern printing house with formidable experience, which, due to the use of digital technology, is able to provide printing services tailored to the exact requirement, without the risk of producing a print run that is too big, and thus without generating additional storage costs, etc. Moreover, they can personalize your product and are able to produce additional print runs of revised versions of publications without delay. For us, however, they are above all great people, while at the same time being top industry specialists and simply a pleasure to work with.We always try and provide a complex service when supplying our clients with printing substrates and packaging materials relying solely on well-tested products and highly regarded paper mills. This is the only approach that makes it possible for us to ensure that we provide top and, more importantly, consistent quality. We are pleased that Totem.com.pl also recognise this value, and are proud to be their business partners, where our long-term cooperation endorses the bonds I referred to earlier.
Michał TenerowiczMarketing ManagerZiNG Sp. z o.o.
The high-speed inkjet print technology requires an entirely different approach to paper manufacturing. Arctic Paper, as a leader in the industry, developed a broad range of papers used for various purposes: starting with the printing of personalized transaction materials through to sophisticated brochures and books. All paper types in the Highway range are manufactured to special order for high-performance inkjet equipment, however they retain the characteristics of traditional paper types. They include the Amber Highway Regular and Amber Highway Super papers, where Totem.com.pl, one of our long-term business partners, is amongst the printing houses we supply them to.
Michał Büthner-ZawadzkiSales Development SpecialistArctic Paper Polska
TOTEM has been my partner in business since 2012. For all that time I mostly used their ability to deliver very short runs of high quality, complex hard cover productions in mono and color print. I appreciate the support I receive during the preparation stage and production process itself, which helps to receive a satisfactory product for my authors.
Tom AhlbergForlaget Underskoven ApS
As a publisher in science, culture and education I oftentimes face a question of how many books from a given title I would need. I want to make a wise decision about balancing the run. Here is where digital print and TOTEM step in. Thanks to our cooperation I can not only start up with a short run and see how the market will react but I can also revitalize some older productions of which I know I will only need some hundreds of copies. I am also a man of quality and in TOTEM I found it on satisfactory levels.
Henning LundForlagsredaktørBogforlaget Frydenlund
Sandstone Press has been utilising the services of Totem for a decade now, and have always found their quality and price to be on the button. Added to that, they have been responsive to our schedule requirements and occasional technical inquiries. I am happy to recommend them.
Robert DavidsonSandstone Press Ltd
I have been working with TOTEM for almost 5 years now. During this time, I mostly focused on producing perfect bound books, some in very short runs. The reasons behind choosing TOTEM as a parter are namely short delivery times, reliable quality and competitive pricing. I am also happy that they keep all the data for our books in their system so reprinting a title does not require any effort. I can recommend them to any publisher in the educational segment as a partner they can rely.
Birgit VråPublisherSamfundslitteratur Publishing House
