Start-up Company Harkwell Labels Chooses UV Letterpress

A privately owned company printing and converting labels and tags, Harkwell Labels Ltd., occupies a 4,500-square-foot facility located in Poole, Dorset. With six employees the company is a small, but a focused concern supplying high quality letterpress printed labels. By positioning its production between the digital and flexo processes Harkwell has advanced to a point where its order book is more often than not, fully booked. The average job run is around 20,000 labels but the full spectrum of their production is from 1,000 to 1,000,000 and includes labels for food packaging, advertising, Marketing & Mailing, the veterinary and Healthcare market, trade work, swing tags, and window stickers.

The company is somewhat unique in that it relies solely on the letterpress process to produce its products. Where many label printers today lean heavily on flexo or litho printing for label production, Harkwell is firmly committed to the letterpress process. States Tim Fountain, owner, “We are not interested in getting into the commodity market and we have many local businesses we can serve. The letterpress technology we have is cost effective and great for handling dedicated, short runs with consistent, high quality printing job after job. We can combine that quality consistency with hot foiling, laminating, custom die cutting and sheeting. We know and work with our customers as partners and they know we are available for them at all times and passionate about labels.” General Manager Jon Cooke adds, “Harkwell has identified a niche area delivering high quality, attractive labels to both small and large organisations that help them to brand and advertise their products at a reasonable cost. We always recommend our ultra high gloss varnishing for that added eye appeal and provide this service free of charge, as it has become a more affordable and flexible alternative to overlaminate.”

The company currently has two letterpress printing machines supplied by AB Graphic International. The first letterpress system ordered was an up-graded two colour Delta SR400 label press. Next was the new Lintec LPM300GT semi-rotary letterpress model with six printing units plus varnishing, Hot Foil, overlaminate, sheeting, dual cutting units and seven air cooled VCP UV curing units with e-brick electronic power supplies from GEW. Also from A B Graphic International is the new Omega TT 270 Slitter/Rewinder. Tony Bell of A B Graphic International comments, “The TT270 has been specifically developed to offer a robust table top rewinder with many features normally only found on larger, more expensive inspection/slitting equipment. Accurate tension control settings can be achieved with independent air operated unwind and rewind tension controls. The unwind and rewind mandrels incorporate a mechanical locking system which ensures positive grip without distorting the label core and finished reel. This is critical since Harkwell Labels prints and converts vinyl, polyester, polyethylene and paper substrates.”

Asked why the company is based in Poole, normally considered a resort area, Tim Fountain answers, “Poole and its surrounding area has a population of over half and million with a well established local business base. By being able to provide tags and labels of high quality on a quick turn-around basis, we have been able to build a sustainable local business. It is not unusual for a customer to phone in a job at 4 pm on a Friday and we will deliver the completed order on Saturday morning. With the printing and converting equipment we have put in place, we are now in a position to fully support our customers.”

The 4,500-square-foot facility at Harkwell includes space for further expansion in the shape of a new in-house CTP pre-press department that will offer its customer a first hand design service.