In the past four decades, Colorcraft's Hong Kong base has been subject to many business cycles, from the heady days in the run-up to the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China and the present buoyant economy, to the depths of the Asian financial crisis, medical alerts and external influencers such as both Iraq conflicts. Throughout all these phases and the challenges they have presented, Colorcraft has adapted to prevailing circumstances and grown into the solid commercial presence it is today.

Colorcraft was founded by Barry Walker, the present chairman's father. With a background in advertising, he came to Hong Kong to launch the campaign to promote Ford Motors, and thereafter he joined IPC. Barry was responsible for setting up Far East Trade Press at a time when there were no local trade journals; everything was sourced from elsewhere in Southeast Asia. At FETP, he ran the advertising division for all the published journals under the imprint, which also led him into experience in book production.

He went on to set up the first Hong Kong office of publishing icon Paul Hamlyn. When the office closed, it proved the catalyst for establishing Colorcraft. With a stable of trusted print and production suppliers in Hong Kong, Barry set about launching the business.

From the perspective of being a start-up himself, Barry well understood the challenges facing small publishers in the same position. A core objective of Colorcraft became the nurturing of independents, a practice that still continues.

Today's small business becomes tomorrow's medium to large operation. There is no better example of this than the Lonely Planet travel guides. Starting with an idea and one guide in 1973, 34 years later, this series is an enormously successful global brand in the travel guide sector and Colorcraft still handles production.

In the early years, the business was drawn mainly from book publishers. Spotting a niche in the education sector, however, Barry branched out by setting up a subsidiary, Edukits, which produced multi-component packages for the primary school market, adding expertise in plastics and assembly line logistics to the company's skills on offer.

By 1981, when Barry's daughter, Bundy, returned to Hong Kong and joined the company, it was time for the next generation of the Walker family to take the helm. Clients like management continuity and all had known Bundy from her early years, when she often helped Barry in her school holidays.

Since taking over the business, Bundy has presided over a period when the advances in technology have changed the face of the print industry almost beyond recognition. They demand that Colorcraft's staff have expertise in today's sophisticated techniques the better to advise clients and liaise properly with vendors.

Another shift in the commercial wind has been the move to mainland China of Hong Kong printers, pressed for adequate space to expand, and subject to high rental and labour costs. Colorcraft's familiarity with the printers, proximity to their mainland bases and knowledge of the working practices in the PRC provide clients with the perfect overseas office-away-from-the-office without incurring overheads or committing time and effort to the steep learning curve needed to deal direct.

The scope of work has also changed and diversified from books and educational kits into many different areas as outlined in the Products section.

For more information about the types of business undertaken by the company, go to Products.