We're excited to share that Fast Printed Packaging has been shortlisted for Investment Project of the Year at the UK Packaging Awards 2026. Being named a finalist alongside the biggest names in UK packaging is something the whole team is proud of.
What We Were Shortlisted For
Our entry centred on a single decision: to invest in specialist water-activated tape machinery and bring an entirely new capability into our UK facility.
It wasn't a small or incremental move. It meant sourcing specialist machinery, rebuilding our production workflows around a product category we had never run before, training the team to operate it at speed, and developing the quality controls needed to guarantee our turnaround times on a brand new product.
The result is a capability that, to our knowledge, no other UK business offers: custom printed water-activated tape, produced and dispatched on a next-working-day turnaround, from a minimum order of one roll, with no plate fees.
The Gap We Set Out to Fill
The UK printed tape market had barely changed in years. If you wanted your branding on your tape, you were typically looking at:
- Minimum order quantities of 72 to 200 rolls.
- Lead times of four to eight weeks.
- Plate and setup fees before a single roll was printed.
For a small brand, a seasonal campaign or an urgent rebrand, that simply wasn't workable. So businesses did what they had to do. They invested in beautiful custom printed boxes and mailers, then sealed them with plain brown tape and watched the unboxing moment fall flat at the final step.
That gap is what we invested to close.
Why Water-Activated Tape?
Water-activated tape isn't just a branding surface. It bonds directly into the cardboard fibres of the box, creating a permanent, tamper-evident seal that can't be lifted and resealed without leaving a mark.
It's also plastic-free and fully recyclable with the box itself. For brands working to cut plastic from their packaging and simplify their material mix, it removes a problem material without adding cost or complexity.
Branded, secure and recyclable, in one component that most businesses had written off as an unavoidable compromise.
What It Means for Our Customers
The investment completed the picture for the brands we work with. Printed boxes, printed mailing bags, printed envelopes, printed paper cup sleeves and now printed tape, all available on the same terms: low minimum order quantities, UK production, and turnarounds as fast as next day.
It also opened the door to businesses who had never been able to access printed tape at all. Independent brands, start-ups, short-run campaigns and anyone who needed a small quantity quickly rather than a pallet in two months.
Building on a Strong Year
The shortlisting follows a strong period of recognition for the business. The same investment won Innovation of the Year at the Printweek Awards 2026, where judges described it as "a UK first that identified and filled a huge gap in the market, a great idea executed brilliantly." We've also been chosen as a winner at a further award at the Digital Labels & Packaging Awards 2026.
What Happens Next?
We'll find out the result on 7th October. Whatever the outcome on the night, the recognition reflects what we set out to do when we made the investment: prove that custom printed packaging doesn't have to mean long lead times, high minimums and inflexible suppliers.
Thank you to the judges, and to every customer who backed a product that didn't exist in the UK a year ago.
Want branded packaging without the wait? Explore our range of custom printed boxes, bags, envelopes, tape and paper cup sleeves at fast-printed-packaging.co.uk, printed in the UK with low minimum order quantities and next day turnaround available.
