Print-Leeds lands Black Sheep Brewery contract

Fisher (right) with Jo Theakston: "Black Sheep Brewery is a great brand to add to our existing portfolio"
Fisher (right) with Jo Theakston: "Black Sheep Brewery is a great brand to add to our existing portfolio"

Print-Leeds has been appointed by Black Sheep Brewery to print all of its wet glue labels for its flock of bottled beers.

Eight of the brewery's lines have already been produced by the printer, and they can be found in the shops now.

The labels are printed on high-quality, coated and uncoated papers with the majority of the designs being foil blocked. The Milk Stout label is slightly different and includes a drip-off varnish.

Black Sheep Brewery was established in 1992 when Paul Theakston, a fifth-generation brewer of his family company, chose to leave T&R Theakstons following its sale to a national brewery. He decided to champion independent brewing in Yorkshire and built his own brewery from reclaimed equipment in the same town, Masham.

Sales and marketing director Jo Theakston, Paul Theakston's son, said: “A quality product is very important to us and that doesn’t stop with the beer – it’s everything and that includes the labels we put on our bottles.

“Print-Leeds have shown us that quality means everything to them too and we have developed a Yorkshire partnership on this premise. Our bottle labels are the best in the market and have stand out shelf appeal.”

Print-Leeds managing director Rod Fisher added: “Black Sheep Brewery is a great brand to add to our existing portfolio of household name food and drinks brands. We are proud to be working with this independent, innovative brewery that is producing an exciting product for beer drinkers.”

Last year Print-Leeds also secured a £2m contract to become the sole wet glue label supplier for Marston’s Beer Company.

Both wins have come following an extensive £5m investment programme over the past two years, which has involved the company moving into a larger 2,787sqm factory and installing a £2.5m Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 seven-colour plus coater.

Print-Leeds specialises in wet glue labels, UV litho on plastic and digital print, running a seven-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102 hybrid-UV press alongside the XL 106 and a Screen Truepress Jet W3200UV alongside finishing capabilities supported by a Dyss digital cutter and a Gietz foiling machine.

The company was formerly a repro house before moving into print in 2001 and into labels in 2013.