"It was quite a journey. I was working at a building office, which wasn’t very fulfilling. By chance, I ended up in real estate. I sold two tenement houses to a businessman, we hit it off, and soon after he came to me with an offer: “Hey, I’ve got a print shop and I want you to be the director.” Just like that, I went from being a realtor to running a printing company.
In the very beginning we made simple labels for the Czech Post. That was the only customer contact we brought over from the previous company. Printing basic labels to stick on envelopes seemed like a straightforward job. But instead of fast profits, we got our first business lesson: never skimp on materials. We bought the cheapest self-adhesive paper from a commercial printer in Kolín. It was called “label paper,” but it was terrible to work with—uneven glue layers and other quality issues. The whole batch ended up in containers. We had to switch to higher-quality German material."
"Our first press was primitive by today’s standards—sliding brakes, no electronics, just chains and gears everywhere. That showed in the print quality and accuracy, but we managed with it for three years. In 1997, increasing customer demands pushed us to upgrade. We bought a better machine from a Danish manufacturer, moved to new premises in Prague 4, and began doing our own prepress.
We now handle about twelve thousand jobs a year. But it’s not twelve thousand different labels—many are repeat orders. Take packaged meats, for example. A label might be reprinted every two or four weeks. We only consider it a new order if the packaging changes and the label has to be adjusted. Roughly half of our work is repeat business, the rest are new jobs.
New clients are rare. The market is competitive and everyone tries to hold on to their customers. When we do land a major client, it’s usually because their current supplier made a mistake or there’s been a management change. Otherwise, customers don’t like switching—it’s risky, because label specs are precise and most labels are processed automatically. Any changes can cause problems in their systems. Most companies still reprint things like batch numbers themselves. So if the label doesn’t run properly on their machines, they’re in trouble. That’s why long-term contracts are standard. No one switches suppliers to save half a cent. It’s not like the 1990s, when price differences were huge—today, pricing is pretty consistent."
"Accuracy is critical. But the biggest asset today is speed. That’s what customers value most. A lot of our clients supply supermarkets and retail chains. When a chain launches a promotion, a supplier—say a meat processor—has to deliver, for example, pork ham, within four days. That pressure trickles down to us. We’re expected to have the materials in stock and turn around the job fast. That sometimes means weekend shifts to meet the deadline."
"To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about digital at first. Our competitors already had digital presses, but I waited—and I’m glad I did. We started with a small “room digital” machine from one of your competitors. It was a relatively safe investment, and we quickly discovered the benefits—especially how simple print preparation became.
In 2021, we bought our first industrial digital press, the Gallus Labelfire 340. It’s on par with conventional machines in terms of capacity. It’s even better in some ways: there’s no need to stop for make-ready when marketing wants to try a new design or test a short run. With conventional presses, that changeover can take one to two hours. Digital eliminates that.
We were so satisfied with it that we’ve just installed another digital press—the Gallus One . It’s the next generation, with a simplified design that’s easier to operate. But the core technology—print heads and colors—remains the same, so print quality is identical. It runs a bit faster and is more cost-effective than the Labelfire."
"We definitely needed more capacity, but primarily we needed a backup. The Labelfire is one of our busiest machines. When it broke down for three days last summer, it was a real problem. We had no backup and had to reroute jobs to an old conventional press, which is very inefficient. The Gallus One can replace two conventional machines, thanks to its quick changeover time. It costs a bit more to run, but it does twice the work.
We considered another brand, but it was crucial that our operators knew how to use the equipment. We preferred a system we were already familiar with. Also: We need the machines to run reliably, and the service at HEIDELBERG service is excellent—whether it’s their own technicians or partners. The people are skilled, experienced, and the support works. That gives us peace of mind.
(Today), the oldest press we still use is around 15 years old. All the others are newer. We have two Gallus RCS 330s—very versatile presses that allow rotary screen printing, hot and cold foil embossing, adhesive printing, and more. Then there’s a conventional Gallus ECS for thermal labels. We’ve got two digital Gallus presses now. And historically, we still use the Danish press as well."
"We have to do everything—just like all our competitors. The Czech market is too small to specialize. In Germany, you might have companies that focus only on beverage labels—from soda to fine wines. But here, we do whatever the market demands—from basic packaging to premium labels with multiple printing technologies. We also make “bianco” labels—blank die-cut labels that customers later print on themselves. These aren’t profitable, but we do them to keep long-time customers from turning to a cheaper supplier.
There are only a few big players in our industry, and that’s not changing much. The know-how and investment required is substantial. You don’t just need one machine—you need full print prep capabilities and finishing lines. Competition is growing, but mostly among existing players.
(The packaging market) is definitely growing. Our main product—labels—is part of the packaging industry. Labels aren’t just for branding—they’re crucial for logistics, especially in food, cosmetics, and drugstores. All those sectors are growing. During the COVID pandemic, ironically, we had our best year ever."
"We are addressing ecology, primarily in response to the demands of our customers. We have neither the ambition nor the capacity to become a leader in ecology per se, but when a supplier comes up with new ecological materials, we are happy to get involved. Thanks to our existing technology, we can integrate them seamlessly into the production process, even taking into account our principles.
Additionally, Gallus One is designed to be CO₂ neutral and focused on sustainability, which technically allows us to meet the demand for eco-friendly production while minimizing our environmental impact."
