PrintSafe

What PrintSafe does

PrintSafe Ltd. is a UK-based specialist distributor of industrial coding and marking equipment, headquartered in Winchester, Hampshire, with a registered office in Romsey. Established in 2006 through the acquisition of KBA-Metronic GmbH's UK subsidiary, the company operates as the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Koenig & Bauer Coding GmbH, a German manufacturer with over 50 years of coding equipment heritage and 50,000+ continuous inkjet (CIJ) printers installed globally. PrintSafe supplies German-engineered alphaJET continuous inkjet printers (including the current alphaJET 5 generation launched in 2022), betaJET high resolution inkjet printers (up to 1440 dpi), hpdSYSTEM hot foil coders, and udaFORMAXX modular sleeve and carton feeders (handling up to 750 packs per minute). The technology stack includes proprietary features such as Smart Start nozzle technology, RE-SOLVE Ultra solvent recovery (reducing consumption to under 2 ml/hour), the G-PRINT universal interface protocol for production-line integration, CPE grayscale per-element contrast control, and a 10.4-inch glove-operable touchscreen with smartphone-style interface.

The company serves hundreds of manufacturers across food and beverage (dairy, bakery, ready meals, beverages), pharmaceutical and medical device, cosmetics and personal care, wire and cable, engineered parts and industrial manufacturing, and contract packing sectors. Notable customers include Brioche Pasquier, Barfoots of Botley, Eurilait, B3 Labs, Optibac, BorgWarner, Rittal Enclosures, Totally Wicked, and Medica Packaging. PrintSafe operates an enterprise field sales model with technical sales engineers conducting product demonstrations, free trials up to 30 days, sample printing services, and site assessments, with installation and operator training delivered by the same engineers who staff the free telephone helpdesk.

PrintSafe generates revenue across six streams: (1) outright hardware sales, lease purchase, and lease of coding equipment; (2) short, medium, and long-term equipment rental with a minimum 4-week period and up to 8 weeks rebate toward purchase; (3) consumables including ~100 ink formulations (dye-based, pigmented, MEK-free, UV fluorescing, food-grade, sterilization-resistant), solvents, ribbons, and thermal inkjet cartridges with next-day delivery; (4) genuine Koenig & Bauer spare parts and spares kits; (5) preventative maintenance subscription contracts providing scheduled service visits and discounts on parts and training; and (6) operator and engineer training services (half-day operator, 1-2 day engineer courses). Marketing is conducted through the company website, an insights blog, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, direct email to the existing customer database, and customer referrals, with no third-party reseller channel in the UK and Ireland territory.

Name

PrintSafe

Legal name

PrintSafe Ltd.

Website

https://printsafe.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PrintSafe is the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for German manufacturer Koenig & Bauer Coding, supplying continuous inkjet printers, carton feeders, and hot foil coders to manufacturers across food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and industrial sectors, supported by consumables, spare parts, and maintenance services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Coding and Marking Equipment

NAICS

Support Activities for Printing (32312)

SIC

Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555)

akta.pro primary industry

Labeling, Coding & Marking Equipment (Labelers, Inkjet, Laser) (IMALAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corrugated & Case Printing (Preprint/Postprint) (IMALAKAI), Direct-to-Container & Digital Printing (Inkjet/Laser) (IMALAKAF), Packaging Inks (IMAEAHAH)

Keywords

• Industrial coding equipment
• Continuous inkjet printers
• Batch code marking
• Carton feeding systems
• Hot foil coders

Headquarters

HQ city

Winchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Coding Equipment Sales: Sale of continuous inkjet printers (alphaJET range), high resolution inkjet printers (betaJET), hot foil coders (hpdSYSTEM), and sleeve/carton feeders (udaFORMAXX). Direct sales to manufacturers with various financing options.
2. Rental Revenue: Short, medium and long-term rental of coding equipment including continuous inkjet printers and sleeve/carton feeders. Minimum 4-week rental periods with renewable 4-weekly blocks. Up to 8 weeks rental rebate credited against purchase.
3. Consumables: Sale of inks (dye-based, pigmented, MEK-free, UV fluorescing, food-grade, abrasion-resistant, sterilization-resistant, colour-change, wash-off), solvents, thermal transfer ribbons, hot foil ribbons, and thermal inkjet cartridges. Next-day delivery available.
4. Spare Parts: Sale of genuine Koenig & Bauer Coding spare parts and spares kits for all supported machinery models. Next-day delivery available. Discounts offered on complete spares kits.
5. Service & Maintenance Contracts: Preventative maintenance agreements, scheduled service visits, and engineering support. Includes discounts on service parts, spares and training. Recommended for warranty protection and reliability.
6. Training Services: AlphaJET CIJ operator training (half-day) and engineer training (1-2 days). Available at PrintSafe facilities or customer site. Certificates of completion provided.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PrintSafe supplies German-engineered industrial coding and marking equipment — including continuous inkjet printers, high-resolution inkjet printers, hot foil coders, and modular sleeve and carton feeders — manufactured by Koenig & Bauer Coding GmbH and distributed exclusively to UK and Ireland manufacturers. The offering is bundled with related consumables (inks, solvents, ribbons, cartridges), genuine spare parts, preventative maintenance contracts, operator and engineer training, sample printing services, and short- or long-term equipment rental with a rebate toward purchase. Customers span food and beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, wire and cable, engineered parts, and contract packing sectors requiring reliable date, batch and barcode coding on production lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• alphaJET 5 Continuous Inkjet Printers German-engineered continuous inkjet (CIJ) printers from Koenig & Bauer Coding used to print date codes, batch codes, and barcodes on production-line packaging. The range includes alphaJET 5 HS-M, HS, SP, X, X-FP, and mondo models with print speeds up to 1300 m/min, designed for manufacturers across food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and industrial sectors in UK and Ireland.
• udaFORMAXX Sleeve & Carton Feeders Modular offline sleeve and carton feeding systems that batch-code cartons, sleeves, pouches and blister cards at up to 750 packs per minute. Configurable with up to four devices including printers, label applicators, and vision systems. Available in c, i, and c Coding & Inspection System variants for UK and Ireland manufacturers.
• betaJET HRX GS05 High Resolution Inkjet Printer High-resolution inkjet printer from Koenig & Bauer Coding delivering print resolution up to 1440 dpi with CPE grayscale print technology. Compatible with UBS Designer Lite/Pro and Codesoft label design software, and supports GS1 barcodes including UPC, GS1 DataBar and GS1-128 for traceability.
• hpdSYSTEM Hot Foil Coders Hot foil coding systems from Koenig & Bauer Coding available in vario, nano and magno variants for permanent coding on packaging lines. Designed as an alternative print technology for substrates and applications suited to hot foil marking.
• Koenig & Bauer Coding Consumables Full range of genuine Koenig & Bauer Coding consumables including dye-based, pigmented, MEK-free, UV fluorescing, food-grade, abrasion-resistant, sterilization-resistant, colour-change, and wash-off inks, plus solvents, thermal transfer ribbons, hot foil ribbons, and thermal inkjet cartridges. Next-day delivery available for orders placed before 2pm.
• Spare Parts Service Sale of genuine Koenig & Bauer Coding spare parts and spares kits for all supported machinery models. Wide range of parts held in stock with next-day delivery. Discounted rates on complete spares kits for alphaJET CIJ printers and udaFORMAXX feeders.
• Service & Maintenance Contracts Preventative maintenance agreements with scheduled service visits and engineering support for PrintSafe-supplied coding and marking equipment. Includes discounts on service parts, spares, and training. Recommended for warranty protection and reliability.
• Engineer and Operator Training AlphaJET CIJ operator training (half-day) and engineer training (Level 1 one day, Level 2 two days), delivered at PrintSafe facilities or customer site with certificates of completion upon passing.
• Short-Term Coding Equipment Rental Short, medium and long-term rental of continuous inkjet printers and sleeve/carton feeders with minimum 4-week rental periods renewable in 4-weekly blocks. Fixed-price delivery, installation, training, technical helpdesk access and breakdown support are included, with up to 8 weeks rental rebate credited against subsequent equipment purchase.
• Sample Printing Service Pre-sale sample printing service that prints customer codes or messages on real substrates before purchase to confirm print quality and equipment suitability.

Quantifiable outcome

• Payback period as short as 6-12 months for automation replacing manual coding/labelling
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Koenig & Bauer Coding GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2006Exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Koenig & Bauer Coding GmbH (formerly KBA-Metronic GmbH). PrintSafe was established in 2006 through acquisition of KBA-Metronic's existing UK subsidiary. Supports manufacturers across all industries with German-engineered coding equipment including alphaJET continuous inkjet printers, betaJET high resolution inkjet printers, hpdSYSTEM hot foil coders, and udaFORMAXX sleeve and carton feeders. Koenig & Bauer Coding has 50+ years experience and 50,000+ printers installed worldwide, manufactured to ISO 9001:2015 standards.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Domino Printing Sciences: UK-based manufacturer of coding and marking equipment (CIJ, laser, TIJ) directly competing with PrintSafe's product portfolio. As a primary manufacturer rather than distributor, Domino offers similar functionality to UK manufacturers but with proprietary technology and direct sales capability.
• EBS Ink-Jet Systems: European-based manufacturer of industrial inkjet printing and marking systems for product identification and traceability. Offers comparable CIJ and high-resolution printing solutions to the same manufacturing verticals.
• REA JET: German manufacturer of coding and marking systems (CIJ, laser, drop-on-demand) comparable to Koenig & Bauer Coding's product line. Competes directly in the European market with similar technology and target customers.

Broad incumbents

• Markem-Imaje: Global coding and marking equipment manufacturer (part of Dover Corporation) operating across CIJ, laser, and TIJ technologies. Serves the same end customers (food, pharma, cosmetics manufacturers) with a substantially broader portfolio and global service network.
• ITW Diagraph (Illinois Tool Works): Industrial marking and coding equipment manufacturer within Illinois Tool Works. Provides CIJ, laser marking, and labelling solutions to manufacturing customers with similar applications in food, beverage, and consumer goods.
• Videojet Technologies: A Dover Corporation subsidiary and one of the world's largest coding and marking equipment manufacturers. Serves the same manufacturing verticals with a comprehensive portfolio of CIJ, laser, and thermal transfer systems and global service infrastructure.
• Hitachi Industrial (Hitachi Europe): Japanese conglomerate with industrial coding and marking equipment offerings (CIJ, laser) sold through European distribution. Targets the same food, pharma, and cosmetics manufacturing customers with comparable technology.

Emerging players

• Anser Coding: Taiwanese manufacturer of industrial CIJ printers focused on emerging markets and competitive pricing. Provides comparable coding equipment to manufacturers with a value-oriented positioning versus premium German brands.

Regional players

• Squid Ink Manufacturing: US-based manufacturer of industrial coding and marking systems (CIJ, TIJ). Provides similar equipment to manufacturers but primarily serves North American markets rather than directly competing in UK & Ireland.

Others

• Koenig & Bauer Coding GmbH: PrintSafe's exclusive supplier and the German manufacturer of alphaJET, betaJET, hpdSYSTEM, and udaFORMAXX equipment. While not a commercial peer, it is the upstream technology partner whose distribution rights are PrintSafe's core asset.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/printsafe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/printsafe-ltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/printsafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PrintSafe