District Photo, the company that owns photo print specialist Harrier, has acquired book printer Halstan, ending more than 100 years of independence.
Halstan has specialised in music printing from its earliest days having developed a way to reproduce musical notation needed for printing scores and instrumental parts. That has also led to expertise in binding especially in cold glue layflat books used by choirs.
Harrier and District Photo by contrast began as photo film processors where the only printing was the envelope used to send holiday snaps to Newton Abbot for processing and the envelopes to return them. With the arrival of digital photography the company quickly pivoted to produce digital prints and photobook. This has become a £80 million business in the UK with more than 300 staff. Halstan turns over £7.2 million with 50 people according to its most recent accounts.
Both are using similar platforms. Harrier has the largest line up of HP Indigo presses in the UK and has more recently invested in Canon ProStream inkjet presses, among eight across the District Photo group.
Halstan has long used Océ mono presses and in 2019 installed a Canon i300, upgraded to an iX3200 with Tecnau cut stack unit, and at Drupa it ordered the first ProStream 2133 in the UK together with a Tecnau cut stack unit and Horizon BQ500 perfect binder. Its litho printing capability has been retired with the arrival of the continuous feed inkjet press.
The deal would allow Halstan’s Amersham factory to handle work generated in Devon, either as overflow capacity or for work that requires more specialist binding than its Newton Abbot plant can process. As well as adhesive binding, Halstan can offer short run thread sewn books, Otabinding case binding and thanks to the ProStream run of press colour as part of the body sections.
CEO of District Photo Harrier Group Chris Hughes says: “Halstan brings exceptional expertise in specialist publishing sectors that complement our existing strengths perfectly. We are delighted to welcome their team into the group and look forward to building on their success together. Importantly, it is very much business as usual for Halstan’s customers and partners as we begin this next phase of growth.”
Halstan executive director Rupert Smith adds: “I can already see the benefits that becoming part of the Harrier Group will bring to our customers, not only through the broader range of products and services we will be able to offer, but also now being part of Harrier’s global footprint for print and distribution as one of the world’s largest print on demand specialists”
The deal includes Halstan’s small print operation in Essen but not its cartography or publishing interests. Harrier has its own central European offset with an operation in Czechia. As well as plants in the US District Photo has a plant in Australia.
