Photocentric

Photopolymer resin
This is where it all starts, we are one of the leading manufacturers of liquid photopolymer resin, from the softest Flexo 18 durometer corrugated grades, through to 50 durometer stamp grades and capping, right up to 90 durometer molding polymer. These are available in all packaging formats. Since 2004 we have been one of the few superclear or non-yellowing liquid photopolymer manufacturers.

We are specialist manufacturer of high performance 3D photopolymer resins. In 2015 we will be launching our brand new, affordable, LCD 3d Desktop printer. This, together with our range of resins, will completely change the 3D market as we know it! Cost is no longer an obstacle!

We take the photopolymer resin and pack it in three formats, imagepac flexo for the flexographic industry, imagepac superclear for craft use and imagepac xtra with integrated backing sheet for office stamps use. Invented in 2002, imagepac has revolutionized the world-wide stamp and plate making process. This is the fastest, simplest and most cost-efficient way of making plates. We now make millions of imagepac sachets in all sizes and formats.

We have designed and produced the unique imagebox Flexo, a complete exposure unit for our flexo liquid photopolymer in a bag, it is the fastest, lowest cost and simplest way to make a flexographic plate.
High Quality Clear Stamps

We take our own super clear imagepac sachets and make clear stamps with them, lots of them, in fact we are the largest private label stamp manufacturer. Manufacturing in both the USA and Europe, we turn your designs into stunning clear stamps. We will take care of everything from the moment you send us your artwork to delivery of your beautiful, crystal clear stamps, packed ready for sale. Visit our dedicated website at www.clearstampmaking.com for more information.

Stampmaker kit
We then provide users with the amazing Stampmaker to expose their imagepac in and make their own custom designed stamps. Stampmaker is our best selling stamp machine, it’s low cost, simple and fast to use. We make two versions, imagepac business and imagepac craft stampmaker. Visit www.imagepacstampmaker.com or www.imagepacstampmakerusa.com

2021
We welcomed HRH, The Princess Royal to our headquarters in recognition of our innovation and 3 Queen’s Awards.
We moved into a new 51,000 sqft building in Avondale, AZ.
We launched the LC Opus our first UV 3D Printer.

2020
We recieve our 3rd Queen’s Award for Innovation
We are awarded a UK Faraday grant to develop novel 3D printed solid state batteries and is awarded a TDAP grant to accelerate our novel printing process for printing lithium ion batteries
We are awarded a £1.875m grant from the Combined Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Authorities to contribute to the construction of a new 45,000 sqft 3D printing Centre of Excellence in Peterborough.
We create a separate business, Photocentric 3D Inc to serve the 3D printing market in America with dedicated staff.
Liquid Crystal Magna, Dental and Pro are all listed in Aniwaa’s best large volume 3D resin printers

2019
We partner with BASF and start the journey together to enable custom mass manufacture by offering functional materials with fully costed pricing models.
The Liquid Crystal Precision 1.5 is listed in Aniwaa’s best resin 3D printers and wins ‘Best Personal Printer of the Year’ at the 3D Printing Industry Awards
We launch our largest printer to date, the Liquid Crystal Magna.
After nearly two years development we create dense alumina, silica and stainless steel parts for the first time using our Liquid Crystal Ceramic printer.
We now employ over 30 research scientists working in 3D printing.

2018
We receive our 2nd Queen’s Award for International Trade in recognition of our substantial 3-year growth in overseas sales
We launch our new Liquid Crystal Precision 1.5 and Liquid Crystal HR 2 3D printers at Rapid 2018 in Texas
We win the Manufacturing Innovation Award at Made in the Central & East England Awards
We are selected as a Commonwealth First Export Champion

2017
We launch the Liquid Crystal Precision printer, our highest resolution printer yet, using a 5.5” LCD screen
We are awarded a UK Innovate grant to create Colossus the largest LCD 3D printer ever made, equipped with a 75” screen.
We win awards for Innovation, R&D and the overall best business award
We launch the Liquid Crystal HR 3D printer, an upgraded version of the Liquid Crystal 10 in every respect. The 3D printer market starts to look at LCD screens seriously.

2016
We are awarded The Queen’s Award for Innovation for our imagepac product
We move into a new 24,000 sqft building in Phoenix, AZ
We design and manufacture Costa 2 in America, the largest automatic stamp processing machine in the world. It is 120 ft long and processes over 70,000 stamps in a single shift.
We begin manufacturing custom stencils and ephemera.
We launch our Liquid Crystal 10 3D printer, the world’s first daylight hardening 3D printer, at TCT, UK
We are the first company in the world to sell a 3D printer using an LCD screen as its image source. Most experts from the 3D printing industry question the validity of using screens
We have a vision of where it can lead and start to invest heavily in R&D with a total of 13 scientists now working in 3D printing.

2015
We purchase and move into a 35,000 sqft facility in Peterborough. At first, it seems that we have lots of room, but as we begin our journey into 3D printing the space fills up fast! We file our first 3D printing patent on using LCD screens.

2014
Photocentric is awarded a UK Govt Innovate grant to develop a novel type of 3D printer based exposing daylight photopolymer using LCD screens.
We use our knowledge created from our first daylight activated stampmaker resins to make it work with LCD screens.

2013
Over 70% of our turnover is now derived from our first patented product, imagepac.
We sell imagepac to users to make office stamps and use it ourselves to make millions of crystal-clear stamps.
Three years after forming, Photocentric Inc now makes more stamps than Photocentric Ltd.

2012
Craft is now our core market and we become expert in handling custom designs automatically and efficiently.
We are now exporting over 70% of our turnover.

2011
We send Costa 1 to Phoenix to fuel their rapid growth in stamp production

2010
We open Photocentric Inc in Arizona to better supply the largest craft market in the world with domestically manufactured product.
We design and manufacture the first automatic inline stamp processing machine, called Costa 1. It processes imagepac sachets on a large rotary cycle, faster and more efficiently than ever before. This automation is unique in liquid polymer processing in the word.

2009
Purchase and move into new 6,000 sqft building in Peterborough. We are now making imagepac and processing stamps automatically in larger quantities.
We invent Stampmaker, the lowest cost and fastest stamp making machine ever sold, sales of this highly effective machine have now exceeded 35,000.

2008
Production of stamps hits new record and we become the largest clear stamp manufacturer in Europe, helped by our development of our largest to date exposure unit, imagebox 10.
2007
Start selling our photopolymer to make flexographic printing plates to print on corrugated.
File patent on pre-packaged photopolymer for flexographic printing.

2006
We file patent on the digital exposure of daylight activated photopolymer using LCD screens.
We make flexographic and lithographic plates using LCD screens.
What we learn goes on to become the basis of our daylight photopolymer for 3D printing.

2005
File patent on world’s first daylight activated photopolymer.
We commercialise the concept as a home stamp making product for craft, imagepac daylight using the light from a desk lamp, combined with a negative printed on a home printer to make a printing plate. It is the first application of daylight cured photopolymer, other than for dental fillings, in the world.
Many years later this novel daylight chemistry will be the inspiration behind our 3D printing business.
We launch A8 size, now offering imagepac and imagepac xtra sachets in all sizes up to A3.

2004
We are a finalist in the HSBC Start-Up Stars competition.
We automate the manufacture of imagepac by designing our first automatic filling and sealing machine.
We make a more sophisticated version of imagepac, which we call imagepac xtra. It has an integrated backing sheet (substrate) in the pack. It is harder to manufacture, but soon we learn how to automate the construction of this multi-layered package. Quality and reliability improve as we overcome initial sealing challenges and sales grow both at home and overseas.
2003
We design our own exposure unit to make stamps using imagepac sachets and call it imagebox 1. It’s our first experience with the design and engineering of a machine. We react our first photopolymers.

2002
Photocentric Ltd is formed in the summer of 2002 by Paul Holt in a small room in Peterborough. The idea behind the company is to commercialise a patent on pre-packaging photopolymer resin to make the process of making stamps easier and faster.
A few months later the first imagepac packs of photopolymer are made – they are not perfect, but are at least simple to use! It is the world’s first pre-packaged photopolymer printing plate.
At first, we make imagepac by folding plastic over on itself, sealing the edges, filling it with photopolymer, rolling the air bubbles out with a rolling pin and sealing the top- all by hand. It is a slow process and difficult to maintain quality.
We gradually improve it and steadily gain sales with UK business stamp makers, then after exhibiting at Paperworld in Frankfurt, Germany, interest grows quickly from around the world.
Our core values
Innovation

We believe there is always a better way of making everything.