The new press, an addition to the Blandford-based firm’s plant list, was installed at its 2,600sqm premises around five weeks ago while the upgrade to the WS6600 will take place at the end of November.

Managing director Trevor Smith said the total investment cost was “less than half a million pounds”.

The WS6800 prints at speeds of up to 40m/min and has an image width of 320mm. Its features include on press colour profiling and colour matching for reprints and the Automatic Alert Agent, which spots any errors in the print and can be set to warn the operator or stop the press.

The business, which has more than 60 staff and a turnover of £6m, installed the first HP Indigo WS4000 press in the UK in 2003.

“We’ve been HP Indigo users for a long time so we’ve bought additional capacity and productivity in,” said Smith.

“Working with HP, we are always guaranteed superb after-sales and technical support, and this has been an important part of ensuring a long-term partnership.”

He added: “We are printing innovative, high-profile products and HP’s cutting-edge technology will enable us to keep pushing boundaries and impressing our customers.

“Improvements over the WS6600 include improved productivity, greater colour control and an increased print width of 3mm, which will make a difference.”

Amberley Labels also operates three AB Graphic finishing lines, which include foiling and embossing, two Mark Andy flexo presses, a rotary letterpress and a hot foil stamping press.

Its customers include a number of well-known blue chip companies from the cosmetics, personal care, healthcare, beverage and specialist food markets.