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Sponsored by
The Author’s journey is very ably written in this fascinating book. It meets, head on, the challenges in rapid technological growth, especially during the 1980’s and 1990’s.
This IPIA book tells the story of a long-standing member, who in 1975, helped found, sister organisation, BAPC. Ivor not only covers his involvement with printing’s technical developments, but also the business battles he faced. The covid era is covered followed by his firms’ survivalist risk taking, in the aftermath.
Establishing the UK’s first web to print system in 1998, the last half of Ivor’s 50 years in software and print, is an insider’s perspective on innovation, change and perseverance, including coping with cancer. Special note needs to be made that, due to generous publisher’s and sponsor’s support, all proceeds go to Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Watching Ivor’s evolution with digital printing, woven in with client managing and expanding product lines is illuminating. How to turn a lot of messy work into actually profitable work, and other insights, must prove to be rewarding for printers. As a business management book, this book excels with sound “Excursus” advice throughout.
What’s it all about?
The Author, born just before the end of the second world war, writes more than an interesting and unusual biography. This book covers Ivor’s upbringing in Manchester, moving to London aged eight and the adventures that followed. It records his youth, forward thinking youth groups, and involvement in a major theological row that his Rabbi father had with the then Chief Rabbi. University, participating in running the Students Union as Social Secretary and marriage at just twenty-two, feature in the early chapters.
Ivor’s technical and marketing interest grew but it was not until 1974 that he entered the world of print due to a proposal by his print supplier. Opening Kwik Kopy shops Ivor’s business was acquired by PIP USA, five years later, with Ivor becoming MD of its UK arm. This lasted just three years, then, on his own, developed forward thinking trade services utilising the latest technologies.
Quite a difficult and financially challenging time ensued but Ivor held his head, started the UK’s first all-digital print shop that he subsequently sold out to UDO a public print and stationery company. This financially allowed technical progress with investment and the purchase of the second Indigo printing machine in the country, training staff and customers into the scope of the digital print world. When UDO were acquired in 1997 Ivor ventured into the then much-doubted Internet with online cloud-based web to print. The last 25 years of the story continues further roller coaster experiences including disputes, machinery, premises, expansion, and successful succession. Latterly the covid years and rapid progress of his software and print company, by way of acquisitions, alongside the firms relatively new Managing Director, right up to Ivor’s retirement in June 2023, aged 78.
All Proceeds are being donated to Charity
The Publishers and Sponsors are donating the full £24.00 book price in aid of
Pancreatic Cancer UK. Your support is much appreciated even if you don’t read the book!
Pancreatic cancer is the toughest of cancer challenges. It’s tough to diagnose, tough to treat, tough to research and tough to survive. But this charity is taking it on. Their vision is that everyone with pancreatic cancer survives to live long and well.
They are doing this by funding research breakthroughs, campaigning for changes to treatment and care and supporting people when they need it the most.
In the last five years they have seen more progress than in the previous five decades. In the next five years, they will step up the pace and drive this progress even further forward, transforming how health professionals diagnose, treat and care for people with pancreatic cancer – ultimately saving lives.
For further details please visit https://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk
Additional donations on line to https://fundraise.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/fundraisers/ivorjacobs
ANTS IN HIS PANTS Review
"Another favourite part of mine was the author’s willingness to slow down and explain the insider perspective"
Ants in His Pants is an interesting and winding autobiography that follows the incredibly varied, driven, and unique career path of Ivor Jacobs. It’s a look at how technology has deeply changed us in a relatively short few decades, and how to adapt and embrace while growing.
What keeps this from being clinical and dry as a biography, however, are the personal touches. The journey starts humbly from offering car cleaning services as a child in London in the 50s, to printing with early computers, to handling and overcoming the unexpected calamity of running ventures while technology replaces job security by the day. It follows the fight against cancer and struggles in friends’ lives, working around chafing relationships and dealing with the pandemic. It charts the path from the classic print industry to modern printing and software development, and staying relevant in a fast paced world.
Overall, this was an interesting look at taking opportunities as you find them and making the best of a situation, whatever that situation is. Even grim moments are talked about with a light, genuine tone that I enjoyed.
Like many biographies, I feel this one really benefits from the personal stories. The focus is definitely the business and the out-of-the-norm growth Jacobs managed to cultivate across such a wide variety of work, with a lot of drive and creativity, but what really connected me to the story were parts such as what it was like growing up with a Rabbi for a father, or the traumatic birth of his first son, to real struggles and personal conflict with colleagues, to health problems and family matters. Especially at the end, where it turns into more of a diary – it really connected me with the journey, as well as Ivor Jacobs as a person.
I liked how it explored lifestyle and the business world with the same personable voice all throughout this story. The book easily transitions; from stopping to share the technical struggles of trying to adapt to web-to-print or find their niche in software, to humble beginnings struggling to even get paid as a candle-maker or selling write on – wipe off boards.
Another favourite part of mine was the author’s willingness to slow down and explain the insider perspective, so that even someone like me who has no background or context to grasp some of these topics is able to understand and appreciate the story. It’s a big part of the storytelling and I think it does great things for making the reader invested in the journey and expansion that Jacobs experienced throughout his career, and life as a whole, instead of just being told about it matter-of-factly.
Because of that, I feel this book is a great resource for people to appreciate what are becoming forgotten methods and machines, even a mere 40 years later. Some things I was aware of, while others were completely new, so it was fascinating to learn about original typesetting methods, the impact early computers had on printing as they emerged and how they operated (much different from now), and watching Jacobs’ evolution with digital printing, weaved in with client managing and expanding product lines and how to turn a lot of messy work into actually profitable work, and other insights like that. Getting reviewed by big businesses like Hallmark and revamping software to stay relevant were actually interesting with this kind of storytelling.
As for writing style, there’s obviously a lot to digest in this story, and Jacobs does a surprisingly good job of making sure each thought, story, and part of the narrative feeds naturally into the next, so it doesn’t have the jerky narrative of some autobiographies. He’s not afraid to give spoilers about what’s to come in order to complete the thought right in front of you, which I enjoyed both for clarity and the sense of being told these stories in person, in a casual and friendly way.
Cheyenne DeBorde – USA – Author and Founder of November Ink
ANTS IN HIS PANTS
by Ivor Jacobs
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In Aid of
Sponsored by