Bristol, UK-based Kingfisher Labels welcomed more than 100 visitors to its first ever Open House in Yate recently – the event marked the first opportunity to showcase the company’s latest digital print capability and extended flexo capacity in its modern 22,000 sq.ft. headquarters.

Karl Jackson, son of co-founder Martin Jackson, comments, “We were delighted with the number of our valued customers and suppliers that attended and the positive comments they made about our organisation and production workflow – we have invested heavily in the new premises and latest flexo and digital technology​​​​ and it’s really paying dividends.”

​​With a large portfolio of local and regional artisanal customers, as well as key major accounts to satisfy, the recent addition of digital print capability is seen as crucial to the company reaching its proposed target of £3.6m sales in 2024.  The digital press is a Mark Andy Digital Pro 3 toner-based engine fitted with inline finishing capable of 23m/min CMYK plus white at 1200dpi.

Intended to bring Kingfisher’s growing volume of digital work in-house, the Digital Pro 3 is also releasing valuable capacity on the company’s three flexo presses that are better suited to medium and long run work.  “Having digital capability rounds out our offering and shows we have grown into a good size business that can offer a full service on jobs from very short to very long, and all with a great deal of customer care,” he adds.

​​​​Citing the current market trends as “time to market” and “sustainability,” Jackson says Kingfisher has always adopted a responsible approach to serving the market. “We can turn jobs quickly, and even quicker now we have the digital press, and we work hard to reduce waste to a minimum, especially with expensive substrates, but the costs of sustainability are still more than most customers can afford to pay in today’s price-conscious market.  That’s where the production efficiency of our new facility comes into its own, and we are grateful that so many took the time to come to see it in action,” Jackson says.