Handy targets 100m labels with digital spend

Handy Labels is looking to upgrade its digital firepower to help it cross the 100-million-labels threshold and move into new markets.

The six-staff company in Portishead, Bristol is looking to replace its Xerox J75 with a more productive machine capable of five colours.

To date, the £600,000 turnover business has printed nearly 89 million labels, with 99.8% of orders dispatched within 48 hours.

Owner Martyn Kilford said he hoped to cross the 100-million-labels mark by the end of the year, but key to that would be upgrading its J75 to a five-colour machine.

“This would allow us to print white direct on to a material or back up CMYK images with white,” he said.

His company already has a five-colour Ricoh Pro C7100 and two Roland SolJet Pro 4 XR-640 large-format printer-cutters.

The eco-solvent Rolands boast printing and contour-cutting technology along with metallic and white options.

However, Kilford is also looking at adding flatbed technology un the future, to spearhead a push into short-run packaging towards the end of the year.

“Not a lot of companies do short-run packaging with a good turnaround. This is a huge sector, but largely untapped and I reckon it could amount to a quarter of our business once established.”

Kilford's company has been running for 11 years and attracts small, artisan businesses and start-ups alongside blue-chip brands. Candle companies and gin makers are typical customers.

“We often do small print runs but take lots of orders and customers are drawn to us for our quick turnaround and quality,”said Kilford