Diaries, PE kits, gate signage and desk tagging from one Nairobi supplier — how schools cut four vendors down to one and keep every badge matching.
Every January and September, school administrators in Kenya run the same exhausting relay: a printer for diaries and report books, a garment shop for PE kits, a signage maker for the gate board, and somebody — anybody — to mark the new desks before they migrate.
Colorshade Graphics was built to end that runaround: five production departments under one roof at Printers Center, Kirinyaga Road, and a mobile laser unit that comes to your school.
Print: the paper backbone of a school year
School diaries, exam and assessment books, report books, receipt books for the bursar's office, letterheads, certificates and event programmes — printed in-house, with bulk tiers published up front so budgeting is arithmetic, not negotiation.
Because every department shares one floor, your diary covers, uniforms and signage can carry exactly the same badge and colours. That sounds like a small thing until you have seen a school where three suppliers each interpreted the crest slightly differently.
Garments: uniforms and games kits that match
Branded PE and games kits, staff polos, aprons and caps — printed or embroidered with the school badge. One walk-in covers the sports department and the staffroom, and single pieces are welcome.
Embroidery holds up better than print on items that are washed weekly, which is most of a games kit, so we will usually recommend it for house colours and staff wear even though print is cheaper on the day. Sizing is the part schools underestimate: send us the size breakdown early and we will flag the gaps before production rather than after.
Signage: the gate is your first impression
3D reception and gate signs, directional boards for parents' days, wall murals for kindergarten blocks, and banners for open days — designed, produced and installed by the same team that printed your diaries, so nothing clashes.
Asset tagging: the quiet money-saver
Desks, lockers, lab equipment, tablets and sports gear, permanently laser-marked with the school name and an optional serial number that matches your asset register. Our #MaasaiOnBoard mobile unit deploys to your school anywhere in Kenya and marks equipment where it stands.
Stickers peel by half term; engraving graduates with the building. There is a fuller guide to asset tagging in Kenya if you want the detail.
Planning the term: what to order when
- Eight weeks outConfirm diary and assessment book quantities. These are the longest lead items and the ones most often left late.
- Six weeks outApprove artwork for anything carrying the badge — diaries, kits, signage — in one pass, so every item is working from the same approved file.
- Four weeks outPlace garment orders. Sizing takes longer than schools expect, particularly for games kits.
- Two weeks outBook the asset tagging visit for new furniture and equipment, before students arrive.
- The week beforeSignage installed, banners delivered, everything on site.
The January rush is real
Everything above compresses in the first weeks of January because every school in the country wants the same things in the same fortnight. Ordering in December is not being early — it is being on time.
Why one supplier beats four
What consolidating actually gives you
- Accountability
- One quote, one delivery, one contact — instead of four vendors pointing at each other when term starts.
- Consistent branding
- The badge on the diary matches the kit, the gate and the assembly-hall banner.
- Transparent pricing
- Published prices for bulk and single orders alike, which makes procurement paperwork painless.
- Countrywide reach
- Finished orders ship by courier anywhere in Kenya, and the laser unit travels to any county.
- No minimums
- A single replacement item is a valid order.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should a school order for January?
December, for anything needed in the first fortnight of January. Every school in the country is ordering the same items in the same window, and lead times stretch accordingly. Diaries and assessment books are the longest items.
Do you deliver outside Nairobi?
Yes — finished orders ship countrywide by courier, and the mobile laser unit travels to any county for on-site tagging. Travel is free within Nairobi; elsewhere it is quoted up front.
Is there a minimum order?
No. Bulk tiers exist for schools ordering in quantity, but a single item — one replacement staff polo, one certificate — is a perfectly normal order.
Can you match our existing school badge exactly?
Yes. Send the artwork in any form you have it and our designers will prepare a clean version that reproduces consistently across print, garments and signage — which is precisely the problem that using several suppliers creates.
