Duncan Print Group Celebrates 130 years

Duncan Print Group Celebrates 130 years

2019 marks 130 years of business for Duncan Print Group. The UK print and packaging manufacturer, based in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, first opened its doors in 1889 and has been providing quality printed products ever since. 2019 also marks the centenary of the Duncan Print parent company as a registered organisation on Companies House.

Pictured: Bill Duncan, Managing Director and James Duncan, Deputy Managing Director with the Companies House Centenary Certificate

Pictured: Bill Duncan, Managing Director and James Duncan, Deputy Managing Director with the Companies House Centenary Certificate

Founded in 1889 as a printer (the same year as Nintendo - back when it produced card games), the company would have operated everything manually using a similar technique to engraving, with blocks and ink. It’s hard to imagine now but the operation was running just ten years after the commercial lightbulb was invented. Penicillin was yet to be discovered and Australia wasn’t officially a country!

As familiar household brands, such as Barclays Bank, Ford and Rolex came into existence the company continued to grow. A printing company was acquired along with the ability to provide web-offset printing for newspapers and magazines.

After further acquisitions, James Duncan (senior), the current Deputy Managing Director’s grandfather, founded Duncan Print Group and it has been a family-run business ever since. Over the years the Group has been able to adapt and grow by using its experience, combined with investment in new technology, to provide packaging services and digital printing through their operation.

James Duncan, Deputy Managing Director, comments:

“We are very proud of our history and the combined expertise of all of our staff. Over the past few years we have been focusing on providing the best quality printed products, both printed material and packaging, for our customers. Our in-house carton engineers enable us to provide innovative bespoke packaging, tailored to the individual customer and investing in technology has bought every stage of our process up to date to ensure maximum efficiency for our customers. We are excited about what the future holds.”

Bill Duncan, Managing Director, adds:

“We were really happy to receive our centenary certificate through the post. It is a physical reminder of the long-standing nature of the company, as we were actually established in 1889, and is something myself and the team are really proud of. Having gained our BRC certification to print food-grade packaging in the not too distant past, along with our ISO Quality (9001) and Environment (14001) assurance standards, we continue to be committed to providing our customers with stand-out printed products, to the highest possible standards, in a sustainable manner. Duncan Print Group is looking forward to an equally long future where we continue to support our customers as their needs evolve.”