Domino to focus on digital label offering in 2012

Domino Printing Sciences managing director Nigel Bond says the company's digital label press will be core to its offering in 2012 as the inkjet specialist looks to further boost uptake of the technology.

Bond was speaking as Cambridge-based business acquired the remaning 5%, valued at £692,000, of the issued share capital of Alternative Printing Services, the German business it acquired a majority stake in back in 2008.

The company develops and manufactures a range of thermal inkjet printers for coding and marking applications.

According to Bond, APS has developed "certain know-how" and has patented ink technology that Domino believes will broaden the use and application of thermal ink jet products in its core market areas.

Bond said the company will continue to be on the look out for acquisitions in 2012 but only if the opportunity is the right one for the inkjet business.

"I hope we'll see more acquisitions but not for the sake of it. If there is an opportunity that will help our product development or distribution then we would be interested but these are often like London buses and they will all come at once," he added.

With Drupa taking place in five months time, Bond said he anticpated the culmination of recent developments in group's product offering such as further placements of its N600i digital label press.

"We've spent the last two or three years developing our product line and I anticpate 2012 will see further growth in the label part of the business and hope for a good level of uptake of that," he said.

Domino goes into 2012 after recording an increase in sales and pre-tax profits during 2011. The Cambridge-based company experienced a 5% increase in sales to £314.1m while underlying pre-tax profits were up 9% from £54.5m to £59.4m.