About

W.T. Nickell Label Company

About W.T. Nickell Label Company

After leaving National Cash Register Company in 1960, Wiley Thomas Nickell had an idea. His plan was to build a machine that would print labels. He didn’t want to build another printing press to be marketed to big companies; his idea was for every small company to have a way to print their own labels with their own press and flexographic printing plates of the time.

He designed, built, and marketed the Label Imprinter. In the late 1960s, mailing labels had to be produced through a professional printer. Unlike today, each home did not have a computer and a printer. Avery and the return address labels they make were not an option. Every company wanted professional-looking envelopes to send their ever-important mail with professional, personalized return address labels. Shipping labels were very popular, and every product companies produced needed shipping labels as well.

Technology finally caught up to Mr. Nickell’s mechanical imprinting presses, and they were soon replaced by modern-day inkjet and laser printers, as well as thermal transfer printing devices that were becoming available. Mr. Nickell used his flexographic printing experience to continue printing flexographic pressure-sensitive labels. He teamed up with a local Cincinnati company, Comco, and purchased a 7″ label press with die-cutting capability to produce pressure-sensitive roll labels.

The business has expanded and grown through several locations, including an old Dairy Barn on Old State Route 74 in Batavia, Ohio, which he converted to a manufacturing facility. For over 40 years, Wiley Thomas Nickell grew his business and worked with the company into his 80s.

In 2002, the company was purchased by a local friend to carry on the tradition Mr. Nickell started. New printing presses were purchased, and the business continued to grow, evolving with the technologies and trends in the pressure-sensitive label market. In 2009, WT Nickell Company moved into a new facility just off State Route 32 in Batavia, Ohio. A larger facility was needed to fulfill the demands of our customers and inventory management, as well as provide a climate-controlled facility to house a new digital pressure-sensitive label press.

Since then, we have continued to invest in new equipment, expanding our capabilities. In 2016, we invested in a new HP Indigo 4050. In 2022, we replaced our HP Indigo with a brand-new HP Indigo 6000 with an inline coater to print on just about any substrate.

In 2023, we purchased a 13″ Nilpeter flexographic press with servo registration to match the digital press quality but for larger label orders or runs. Time is money, and when you have a fast, efficient press, you can save a lot of money and pass the savings on to our customers.