Many quality brands have taken advantage of the benefits of digital labelling technology to expand their range using multiple designs of labels

One of the most powerful technologies we have benefited from at Mercian Labels is a powerful custom built database that allows us to analyse buying trends amongst our customers. We presented some of these recently at the BPIF Labels Event in late 2011, and after further analyses we are making a small but important change to our market offer.

Over the past decade our “Mercian Labels” business division has evolved considerably to the point where we are known as the market leader in short run labelling for UK businesses. With the increasing market driven growth in the benefits of digital labelling, its clear that many of our customers don’t see us as just a short run specialist, but instead select Mercian Labels as their labelling partner for a much greater variety of work on the basis of our expertise and flexibility to quickly manufacture and deliver many different designs of labelling.  This is great news for both us and our customers, but does move us slightly away from being just simply ‘short run’ specialists to a larger businesses that is growing more and more key accounts in multi design labelling, taking advantage of the benefits of our investments in digital labelling technology.

We have therefore decided to refocus our USP as ‘The Premier Multi Design Label Printing Specialists for UK Businesses’ to reflect this customer driven change. We will of course still undertake a large number of short run labelling jobs, but it is clear that Mercian Labels’ continued growth has taken it to a new area of speciality in multi design labels. Our website has been updated accordingly.  Onwards and upwards!

2012 is looking to be our best ever, and we want your ideas to help develop our offering Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Its a simple question, and one that is often not asked enough to customers.  How can we improve?  In some of the business areas we operate in it is hard to interact with customers face to face regularly, and so the online medium is vital for us.  So to commence the year we would like to invite any and all comments and suggestions, positive and negative, on how we could improve.

Questions we are particularly looking for answers to include:

• What new products would you like to see, or what problems tacked by our NPD team?
• How could we improve our service to you?
• If you use other labelling businesses as well as us, what do they offer that we dont?
• If you could make one change to the way we do business with you, what would it be?

Please feel free to email me directly with your thoughts (adrian.steele@mercianlabels.com) , send us a tweet to @mercianlabels or post a comment below.

We have a number of exciting plans for 2012 including a brand new product range, service improvements from a new and easier to use software process and of course the expansion of our digital labelling capability with the new Xeikon 3300, available to both trade and end user customers.

Happy new year, and I hope that 2012 brings a record year of trading for all our customers.

Adrian Steele – MD

the basic frame of a Xeikon digital label printing machine, showing the locations of the 5 print station stack

Last week I presented a case study on the adoption of digital label printing at an event organised by Xeikon in Lier, Belgium, and enjoyed a tour around their factory where our new digital label printing machine is being made.

Half way to being built, with most of the imaging technology assembled. This machine has a sheeter unit built in on the left hand side

It was really interesting to see how the 100+ machines a year are build and tested to such high standards, and the fantastic technology that is able to create the highest resolution in the market using its 1200dpi imaging technology manufactured in the factory clean room.

Our new machine is being installed in 2 weeks and we are looking forward to offering our customers the benefits of much higher resolution, better productivity and FDA approved, foodsafe and  deinkable toner.  Our team cannt wait!

We will be upgrading to the superb quality Xeikon 3300 in the first week of December 2011

At Label Expo 2011 we announced the exciting news that we are upgrading our digital labelling capability to include the new Xeikon 3300 – the fastest, highest quality, most environmentally friendly digital labelling solution available with fantastic lightfastness, no origination charges and brilliant colour resolution.

The installation will take place during the first week of December, so we ask and advise our customers to place orders wherever possible ahead of this time please to ensure we meet your delivery expectations we we expect to have limited digital label production during that week. All other processes will not be affected!

The upgrade will increase our capacity, improve lead times still further and give us even higher 1200dpi quality and more vibrant colours.  We cannt wait!

‘Trade’ customers are welcome to approach us about our special trade only service (as covered by Printweek) which will be further enhanced with the new installation.

I have blogged for years on the problems facing the labels industry in managing its waste streams, and to a large degree most of the problems are  still here, but getting closer to a solution. This is a summary of the options as far as I know:

The labelling industry produces millions of m2 of siliconised label waste like this a year - and we cannt work out a way of reusing it.

Siliconised glassine paper release liner (“backing paper”) – this cannt be recycled with normal paper as you need a sophisticated deinking plant to remove the silicone.  Consequently the options are limited to landfill, waste to energy or recycling (which is often uneconomic at current rates).

Major recyclers of siliconised glassine release liners include:

• Chanelled resources – who ship the paper for reuse overseas
• Cycle for green - recycling by reprocessing at Lenzing Papier in Austria at a specialist plant
• UPM papers- recycling in France via  Vertaris by reprocessing 

To my knowledge there are no UK recyclers of glassine liner, and only 2 plants in Europe (France and Austria) that can reproceses it.

Siliconised PET (polyester) release liner - this cannt be recycled with normal PET.  Consequently the options are limited to landfill, waste to energy or specialist recycling

Major recyclers of siliconised PET release liners include

• Avery Dennison (as previously reported here)

Siliconised PP (polypropylene) release liner - this is a new and emerging release liner solution that can sometimes be recycled with other PP plastic waste provided that it is properly segregated.  Consequently the options are limited to landfill, waste to energy or specialist recycling

Major recyclers of siliconised PP release liners include

• UPM

Matrix Waste

This is the biggest unaddressed problem.  Mercian Labels commissionsed a report from a leading European academic specialising in waste management in 2008, which recommended that the only viable options were landfill (undesirable but cost effective), or waste to energy, which is the position we are trying to move to.  This is because its a mix of paper, plastic, adhesive, ink and silicone that cannt be separated into different waste streams.  I have blogged on this subject before here and here , and the position remains largely unchanged.  From our perspective, we are waiting for a waste to energy plant to be built near one of our operations in Cannock as our long term solution.

If you generate batches of more than  3 tonnes of liner then you can get it recycled through one of the routes described above.  If you are a smaller user, and most people will be, then I am afraid that to our knowledge there are no other recycling options available at the moment in the UK.

Do you want to earn £1000?

We are seeking to make a strategic appointment for our Cannock Operation by appointing a talented rising star in the labels/packaging industry to a new post of Operations Manager.

If you know of a suitable candidate who we should talk to through your network, then please email adrian.steele@mercianlabels.com with their name and we will do the rest.

If you are the first person to nominate them (judged by the time of your email to me) and we end up hiring them at any point in the next 12 months then we will send you £1000 after they have worked for us for 1 month as a thank you for the introduction.  This offer does not apply to agencies where we will have to pay an additional fee – it is intended for private individuals only, and you can donate the money to a charity of your choice  if you wish.

The test compared HP, Xeikon and UV inkjet prints over months of sunlight exposure

At last weeks Label Expo 2011 a poster caught my eye, comparing the pigment fading of the 3 principal digital label printing technologies in an easy to see and understand way, the best comparison I have seen to date.  Put simply it showed the same image printed at the same time using 3 different processes (HP Indigo solvent based liquid toner, UV cured inkjet inks used by Xaar, Konica Minolta & Kyocera,  and the FDA approved food safe dry toner used by Xeikon), all with an unexposed version , and a version that had been exposed to 800 hours of sunlight from May to August 2011.

The results are dramatic, and clearly show the difference in UV lightfastness between the different technologies.  The HP solvent based liquid toner fades by far the most, followed by the UV Inkjet, with the Xeikon dry toner by far the most lightfast and light stable for high performance labelling applications.

Here are the images – compare the before and after for each process.

	Before	After 800 hours
HP Liquid Toner
UV inkjet
Xeikon dry toner

Can you see any difference in the ‘before’ and ‘after’ Xeikon images?

To measure the changes scientifically, a parameter called Delta E is used by colour professionals, and is shown in the table below for each of the colours. A Delta E of 1 is about the smallest colour change that can be seen by the human eye.  A larger Delta E number means that the colour difference is bigger between the 2 versions. Here are the measurements on each of the 7 colours.

Delta E values for the 3 printing processes after 800 hours of daylight

So its clear that both visually and by measurement of Delta E, the Xeikon dry toner process we exclusively use at Mercian Labels  is the most lightfast digital label printing technology you can use, on average this test indicates that the colour change with a Xeikon dry toner is about 5 times less than when using HP solvent based liquid toner.

So if you are looking for high performance digital labelling for use when exposed to sunlight, make sure you specify a  Xeikon printed image from Mercian Labels to minimise the risk of significant fading.

Digital Printing for labels Seminar

We will be attending the digital label printing technical workshop run by BPIF Labels in Daventry, UK, on 2 November 2011.  It looks like a really good day for those in the UK labels industry to meet up and discuss a really important trend towards increased digital labelling, and one that we have just again invested into.

Speakers include Xeikon, Xaar, HP, LabelTrax, UPM Raflatac, AB Graphics & Esko Artwork, with a  keynote from labels industry legend Mike Fairley. The agenda is here and booking form here

If you are a labels user interested in digital labels, or otherwise involved in the industry, then it would be good to see you there.

(Ps – I suggest we use Twitter hashtag #bpiflabels)

Last week I was at the biggest Labelling show in the world, Label expo in Brusells, Belgium.  It was a fantastic event, certainly the best of the 6 Label Expos I have been too.  This is a review of my thoughts on the show and developments relevant to our customers and marketplaces in the same manner in which I did for the last show in 2009.

Its bulletted for my convenience and speed.  Please quickly add your thoughts to the comments once you’ve read it – no registration needed, just type and press!

General

• It was a great show with a lot of buzz about the place. Everyone seemed to be pleased with attendee numbers that were up 18.6^ on last year (28k in total!) and the quality of interest.
• The venue was as good as ever – I hope it doesn’t move as its a really good venue for the show
• Twitter was big this year with a lot of visitors, major brands and journalists commenting on the show as it happened using the #lablexpo hashtag . I certainly found some new technology by visiting stands mentioned on twitter that I would not otherwise have gone to.  I can only see Twitter usage exploding (try 137 tweets 831,151 impressions, reaching 80,940 followers using #labelexpo).  It was surprising the number of people who knew my tweets before I arrived on their stand this year!

Digital

The Label Technology Workshops were very good

• The head to head EFI v HP v Xeikon digital print workshops were great, a real showcase to watch the latest developments.  To me, the digital hall had the biggest and best buzz of all!  The displays of packaging/carton printed were also pretty good.  The best bit – watching Filip from Xeikon eating the toner to demonstrate its FDA food safe properties for direct food contact!

Xeikon remains our preferred platform so we bought another one at the show - part of the £30m+ spent on digital machines at the show itself!

• Xeikon introduced their varilane software enabling multiple variable jobs to be stacked up across the web, and optimised to use the least amount of material.  This seemed very clever and I am looking forward to seeing the final version when its ready in the coming months.  Xeikon also showed a great comparison of the effect of sunlight fading on the same image printed using UV inkjet, Xeikon Toner and HP liquid toner.  I will be posting abut this separately in the coming days.  Xeikon also introduced some new toner colours for the chemical markets (red and orange) and a new dry toner printable PE was also announced from Mactac (and a direct thermal material as well, although I did not see it).  Although limited, it does now mean that most substrates can be Xeikon printed, which has always been a major benefit of the HP platform over Xeikon.

HP Indigo WS6600 with inline coating

• The big news from HP was the launch of their WS4600 and WS6600 machines, with the main 2 differences I could tell from the existing very successful 4500 and 6000 models were
  • there was an “enhanced productivity mode” using 3 colour process (no black) rather than 4 colour, with a consequential improvement in speed and drop in click charge.  However, there didn’t seem to be any comparable samples on the stand of the same job done 3 and 4 colour, and no-one who I spoke to (and I spoke to a few…) had seem a comparison either, despite asking for them, nor seen it working on the stand.  So, I can not say if it was actually available, or if it works without a significant drop in quality – judge for yourself.
  • There was an addition brand protection package with invisible UV inks that was good if you need that facility.

There was also the launch of an inline primer coater for the WS6600- however it was apparently not seen working to coat any synthetic substrates, and I overheard talk of an patent related issue possibly being the cause.

HP also told me that they are now the world’s biggest label press manufacturer, having installed more presses in the past 2 years than any other manufacturer.  WOW – thats a really big statement, taking it away from the likes of Gallus, Nilpeter, Mark Andy etc.  It just shows how the world has gone digital, with the 2 powerhouses of HP and Xeikon rumoured to have sold a combined total of over £30m of machines in the first 2 days at the show!

• Durst had a really impressive 8 colour UV inkjet system on show, perhaps the best quality UV inkjet for the labels market we have seen to date;  the replacement Xaar 1001 head cost still scare me though!

Jetrion 4900 with inline laser converting

• EFI Jetrion had the new 4900 printer with inline laser die cutting  – again pretty good, just not the print quality of Xeikon and HP, or HD flexo really IMHO.
• The ultra slow but very high quality Epson Surepress machine was attracting a lot of interest, especially from the guys wanting to digitally print onto highly textured wine labels.  Watch this space with Epson, as I can see a major new platform coming out for label printing at DRUPA 2012. The substrates are unprimed, the ink water based, the quality very good – its now all about a synthetic substrate to work with and SPEED!
• Stork / SPG had their machine on the show again, which was IMHO on a par with the Durst unit in terms of quality.  In common with almost everyone apart from Xeikon however, there was no inline converting on show, but as a reel to reel solution with 8 inkjet colours, it was a pretty impressive use of Xaar print heads. Maybe 8 colours is the way to go to generate prime quality labels print from an inket platform?  Even so, there were still some noticeable blocked nozzle lines on the samples on display, but certainly a lot better than we have seen from SPG at the last show.  From the UV inkjet platforms, SPG and Durst appear to be battling it out for the highest quality.
• the CSAT Heidleburg launch product was again pretty good using (LED I think?) UV lamps, but again the running costs presented on the stand didnt make themselves competitive against HP and Xeikon, even with a much faster web speed. The price of inkjet heads really needs to be costed in a different manner (inclusive with ink costs?) to make them viable, as occasional consumable bill of £50k is too risky to incorporate into the running costs.  Inkjet manufacturers to note IMHO!
• The water based memjet technology was present from OWN-X from Hungary and Rapid Machinery from Australia.  On the right substrates the quality is pretty good most of the time, but the platforms were not really geared up for full industrial use and running many KMs of digital label material a day.  The requirement to stop the machine and break the web for an inkjet head clean every few hundred meters was a significant limitation on some platforms from what I saw.
• There were a lot of entry level desktop laser machines too like the Primera machines that seemed to get a lot of interest, and seemed ideal as a first step towards digital label production for a small labelling business, or an in house solution for small label user customers.
• There was a huge number of digital converting lines on show from businesses that I have rarely come across, or never heard off.  Traditionally this market has been dominated by AB Graphics and GM, but it is clear that there are many other solutions out there with the obvious semi rotary/varnish/laminating features, but also the odd multiple die station, foiling and screen printed units.  Its clear than many of the slitter rewinder manufactuers are eyeing this market up very keenly a lot of the premium priced work moves to digital from flexo, and the converting needs are different from conventional slitter rewinders.
• Laser die converting was again on display with a number of different solutions from different manufacturers including one for the Xeikon from GM.  At the moment it doesn’t seem to be economic to run with only 1 laser (too slow line speed) or 2 lasers (much faster but too expensive to install), and the inevitable white line problem is still there, but it is looking more attractive than ever.

Flexo+ converting

• This year Flexo didnt seem to show very many big developments, with HD now well established.  However I did speak to some people I thoguht would be highly focussed on digital, but in fact were shopping for flexo presses!  Flexo is still the major print process by far as far as I can tell.  All the focus was on quick changeover with the new FL350 platform from Edale, and Mark Andy demonstrating 32 second changeovers of a flexo print station.  Its very impressive… and combined with the move towards even smaller repeat cylinders with smaller plate costs iut is very clear that pure flexo manufacturers are competing now not on quality and max speed, but how efficient they can be when matched against digital, which is getting faster and wider.  The middle ground of flexo / digital changeover is getting to be a VERY crowded space.

Rotometrics adjustable anvil roller

• Rotometric had a great new device – an adjustable Accustrike Anvil roller so that you can really adjust to e tolerance between the blade and anvil without a new cutter everytime – clever.

spot the frozen die station on this Gallus machine!

• Gallus and Fasson combined to lauch a frozen “Cold Die Unit”  with Fasson Thinstream technology that allowed the use of a 12 micron PET liner!  It really was impressive, delaminating the web, die cutting the label with tiny retaining tags on a frozen anvil and then relaminating again before stripping – again very clever.
• I had a great conversational comment from one of the journalists there that I reported on Twitter “At #labelexpo 2009 digital competed with flexo. This year its all change; flexo is trying to compete with digital.” By @juan_diaz_diaz

Other developments

• There were a few new substrate coaters present which was good to see, clearly targeting the emerging markets growth.
• Herma’s dual layer coating technology caught my eye, it sounds useful and clever.

at the Xeikon community event on Thursday night the CEO Wim Maes announced that Xeikon's digital labelling business had doubled since 2008!

• The socials were excellent too with the Global Labels awards on Wednesday evening and the Xeikon community event on Thursday really enjoyable and a great opportunity to swap ideas and thought with others.

Conclusion

A fantastic show with such a good vibe to it.  It made me feel that the labels industry in actually very resilient to the recession, provided that we continually reinvent ourselves.

Xeikon and HP continue to battle for the top spot as industrial digital labelling powerhouses, and although it gets better and better, I think we are still a way from inkjet becoming a serious rival in the mass market to these 2 players.

I’m looking forward to DRUPA where there must be some more really exciting new developments!

Disclosure

I am the MD of a UK label printing company (Mercian Labels), we are are a Xeikon user, and these views are from the perspective of a label printer with interests in digital, flexo, variable data and security label printing – it is not an all encompassing independent review – if you want one, go to a journalist!)

Please now comment!

A reminder to please quickly add your thoughts to the comments once you’ve got this far – no registration needed, just type and press – opinions about anything very welcome, and unless your post is offensive I will publish it and share your views and get some debate going.

Our Label Innovations Division has published a list of the top 5 MOST WANTED label innovation solutions.  You can read  them here or meet me at Label Expo to discuss.

LabelExpo 2011 is the world biggest labelling show

Its an exciting time again for those in the world of labelling and narrow web packaging, as its time for the biennial Labelexpo show in Brussels later this month. As always we expect to see a lot of exciting new technology launches, some product line refreshes and a bit of the “same as always” offerings from some suppliers. The core innovations in the digital space from Xeikon and HP will be heavily watched, and a lot of the attention will be on the inkjet platforms to see if they have improved the quality of the print since the last big show at IPEX last year.

The Digital Print Workshop “face off” of Xeikon v HP v EFI Jetrion looks like it must not be missed!

As always I will be writing a review of the event from the perspective of a label converter heavily into security, variable data and short run digital work in the same way we did reviews of IPEX 2010 and Label Expo 2009 which attracted a lot of debate on this blog.

If anyone would like to meet me at the show please contact me in advance, and I am particularly interested in approaches from people who can offer solutions to our top 5 MOST WANTED problems in labelling.

Watch this space!

The new homepage of our website dedicated to short run labelling

We have just overhauled our www.selfadhesivelabels.com website dedicated to the UK short run labels market with a new homepage and side navigation to include a twitter feed on every page.  Any comments would be appreciated below!

Guide to packaging and labelling law 2011.

We have been provided with a review copy of a new book on packaging and labelling published by Content Publications aimed at managers in the packaging industry.  Written by solicitor & law lecturer Charles James, “Guide to packaging and labelling law 2011″ is to our knowledge the only book of its kind, and is of potential interest to customers at our short run printed labels division at Mercian Labels.

The first thing to note from skim reading the book is the enormous amount of complex legislations, EU directives and other rules you have to follow in labelling products.

The Table of contents is comprehensive:

Whilst not an entertaining read, it is the first point of call for small companies looking to check anything to do with labelling or packaging.  If you cannt find it here, at least you will know where to look!

Priced at £40, you can buy it direct from Charles’ website at Content Publications.

2D QR format barcode labels add interactivity to your packaging

Many switched on brand owners including SME businesses are starting to interact with packaging using free barcode reader apps on smart phones. We have blogged on this subject previously. By far the most popular format is the QR barcode format, pictured above.  If you scan this one it directs you to a website (its interesting, try it!) .  At Mercian Labels we have the ability to offer both fixed and variable 2D QR barcode labels to our customers, and can set this up for you on your artwork.  If you are interested, then please contact us to discuss what you wish to achieve.

There is a new removeable adhesive on the market for peelable applications - ask us for details

There is a new removable adhesive on the market for peelable labelling applications that is designed to leave no residue whatsoever on surfaces from glass to cardboard, unlike most conventional peelable adhesives. It works from -10 degrees to 80 degrees C. If you are interested in using this material for a high volume application then please contact us and we can discuss the details with you.

We are hiring an Operations Manager with NPD responsibilities

We are hiring for a fantastic new role in the Group – Operations Manager with NPD responsibilities.  Full details here.  This is a senior role and we are looking for outstanding candidates in the UK with a strong technical background to apply for this role.  If you know of anyone who may be interested, please let them know.

Label Lock Security seals in use today on the London Underground

We have posted before about the mess than can be left by the inappropriate choice of tamper evident security labels, and so it was pleasing to see  a customised version of our premium low residue Label Lock Security Labels in use today to secure the fire safety equipment cabinets on the London Underground. When removed, the labels leave a permanent OPENED message in the label so it can not be reapplied intact, but leave nothing but a clean unmarked surface with no residue.

Pictured above is a special customised run of one of our Label Lock seals (red) that does not leave a residue when removed from the stainless steel cabinet, above the as yet un-removed messy residue left by the previous product.  It benefits from an ultra secure sub surface in register number that is extremely difficult to counterfeit or alter, improving security.

A better image for the London Underground, I am sure you will agree!

For more information about special tamper evident security label solutions please contact us.  You may also find this video about Label Lock useful.

]]> http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2011/06/10/customised-label-lock-security-seals-in-use-on-the-london-underground/feed/ 0 http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2011/06/07/press-release-mercian-labels-group-md-named-as-a-leading-entrepreneur/ http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/2011/06/07/press-release-mercian-labels-group-md-named-as-a-leading-entrepreneur/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:04:56 +0000 Adrian http://www.selfadhesivelabels.com/blog/?p=1215 PRESS RELEASE

7 June 2011

Cannock, UK

Mercian Labels Group MD named as a leading entrepreneur

Dr Adrian Steele, MD of the Mercian Labels Group has been awarded a coverted place as one of the ’42 under 42′ most promising Midlands entrepreneurs of 2011 by the prestigious Midlands Insider business magazine.  The awards, which have been running for over 10 years, seek to identify the most promising future business talent in the Midlands region.

The awards originated when Midlands Insider identified the average age of its Power List of business leaders was 52, and it wanted to identify the next generation of influential prospects that would bring economic prosperity to the region via the ’42 under 42′ list.

Steele commented “I am really pleased to be recognised as one of the 42s this year along with a host of exciting business people in our region, all with a story to tell. Its an exciting but challenging time to be growing a business in the Midlands, and the Mercian Labels Group is doing really well with an excellent team manufacturing innovative labelling products for both domestic and export markets.”

-end-

Notes to Editors:

Contact: Lynne Hathaway at +44 1543 431095, lynne.hathaway@mercianlabels.com

27 May 2011

Cannock, UK

Gammatex™ gamma radiation indicator labels growth supported with new website launch

Global demand for radiation indicator products has led to the launch of a new website to support Gammatex™, a brand of the Mercian Labels Group.

The new website at www.gammatex.co.uk showcases the product for both users and international distributors.  Launched in 2010, Gammatex labels are used in the medical and pharmaceuticals industries as verification that products have been subjected to the required dosage of radiation to ensure correct sterilisation.

Hugo Gell, Sales Director of The Mercian Labels Group said  ”Gammatex labels have been around for several years under a different name – Detex. Since the re-launch, we have been widening our net to a global market of gamma irradiation users and suppliers, and the response has been remarkable. Currently the biggest customers are from the pharma industry, but recent experience is telling us that there are many other user groups, including food and beverage, who are using gamma sterilisation, and the list is growing. The Web is the obvious way in which we can engage with diverse market sectors and distributors all over the world, and the new website will grow as our market increases.”

The website – www.gammatex.co.uk – allows potential users to familiarise themselves with the product and end user pricing, as well as having a password protected area for distributors to download marketing materials and other resources.

Gammatex is a brand of specialist labelling business  The Mercian Labels Group of Staffordshire, UK

I'm growing all of this year's chilli crop outside, and its all planted out together with tomatoes, rasberrys, leeks, lettuce, spinich, opinions and sprouts

Just a quick update on this year’s chilli growing fest, as today I planed all 80 potted seedlings out ready for a super growing season.  If you arent aware of the history of this, you can see the 2011 seedlings post here, previous years crops here and here, and my inspiration from Alan at The Open Sourcerer blog here.  OK, its nothing to do with Mercian Labels business, but its a great source of homemade xmas presents come the autumn and keeps me out in the garden!