About
Us
Union
Print Co Ltd (UP) was founded out of necessity. Originally, it had only one
purpose – to supply the newly formed General Workers’ Union (GWU) with the
printed material it needed, including its bilingual newspaper ‘The Torch’,
which was the official mouthpiece of the union. The Second World War was over,
in Europe, and the period of post-war reconstruction was just in the beginning.
The GWU, established on the 5th October 1943, had an important role
to play.
Since
that first small printing press housed in a small tenancy overlooking Marsamscietto Harbour, the history of UP has been moulded with the history of the union and
that of the Maltese Islands. UP publications have often been the mouthpiece for
the progressive and liberal sectors of Maltese society during the long march
towards civil and workers’ rights, political independence and the development
of Malta as a free nation coming out of post-colonial isolationism. In 1959,
‘The Torch’ was re-baptised ‘It-TORCA’ and soon became Malta’s leading Sunday-paper in the Maltese language. In 1962 the first edition of
‘l-orizzont’ was published. Since then both newspapers have built a reputation
for being on the forefront of Maltese journalism.
UP has
constantly adopted the latest technologies in the making of newspapers, often
being a pioneer in the sector. It also attracted some of the best talent in
Maltese journalism to work in its newspapers and some of the best skilled
technicians who ensured the smooth running of the printing process. With time,
the printing department extended to commercial printing, catering for various
demands coming from the local market. This required new investment, not only in
machinery but also in human resources, developing new departments including
design and pre-press.
Today,
UP has become a one stop shop for all the printing and publishing requirements
of our clients with whom we care to build a very personal relationship. We
consider, as a sign of our success, not only the six decades of history that we
have behind us, but our clients that keep coming to us confident that they’ll
get the best deal at UP... and on that we intend to build the future.
