Direct-ED was established in 1994 in Blackburn, Lancashire. The company had just two members of staff and no printing presses. With a product list of just a handful of products all work was outsourced while they closely followed the trends in the education market. They were in regular contact with teachers and schools to see how Direct-Ed could best serve the education community. Today, Direct-ED is one of the main exercise book manufacturers in the UK supplying thousands of schools are the country.