The Poole, Dorset-based company has also seen a 40% increase in turnover during the last 12 months, according to Harkwell Labels managing director Tim Fountain.

Total investment in the WS4500, the WS6600 – first introduced at 2011's LabelExpo and due to be installed in April, and two ABG Digicon label converters has so far reached around £800,000, Fountain said. The increase in work has boosted turnover from £800,000 in February 2012 to £1.2m, an increase which Fountain attributes directly to the WS4500.

He added that the HP machines would enable the company to directly compete with flexo machines on long run work, and has improved the standard of orders on Harkwell’s books, including food label printing for Harrods and Selfridges.

The WS4500 is running on a "long-day shift" according to Fountain, between around 6am to 8pm, and outputting 30 jobs a day. But he said that the WS6600 was "twice as fast" as the current HP, which he described as "absolutely amazing", and would increase throughput even further.

The WS4500 replaced one of Harkwell’s two seven-colour Lintec LPM presses, while the second has been kept to cope with particularly large runs. The company also got rid of a Gallus R160B to make room for the new presses.

Fountain said that he had taken on two ex-Bezier staff following the print firm's collapse last month, who are training to run the WS4500, replacing its current operator, who will move onto the WS6600 when it arrives.

The company will also be recruiting at least four new staff in the finishing department to operate the two ABG Digicons.