Epson partners Human Milk Foundation to support life giving service delivery

Epson-supplied label printing technology is helping its charity partner, the Human Milk Foundation (HMF), to distribute donor human milk to babies in hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and families at home, such as mums with cancer, through The Hearts Milk Bank.

As the largest supplier of donor human milk in England and Wales, The Hearts Milk Bank has supported over 400 families facing feeding challenges and supplies milk to over 50 NHS hospital NICUs. As well as the Harpenden head office, HMF operates hubs countrywide in Kent, Norfolk, East Midlands, Swansea, Sussex, Northumbria and beyond.

Accurate labeling with specific information and QR codes is required for every step of the process. It begins at the initial point of delivery, through pasteurization of the milk, freezing, and then the final dispatch to hospital or the baby’s home.

Epson has supported the charity with an Epson TM-C3500 ColorWorks label printer, accompanied with labels from Magnum Materials, that can withstand pasteurization temperatures of 65 degrees, and freezing temperatures at minus 22 degrees.

‘Reliable printers producing accurate, customized labels are crucial to the continuity of our service,’ said Flic Webster, HMF’s director of communications. ‘Last month alone we printed over 9,000 labels so having equipment we can rely on is essential. Printing clear and precise labels with supporting documentation is critical to the timely processing and delivery of donor milk and the Epson label printer helps us to streamline our operations. Every bottle of donor milk needs the correct label to ensure it can be tracked at any point from arrival at the milk bank, through pasteurization and microbiology screening, freezing and dispatch to hospitals and families.’

The sustainability gains of printing on demand were also a significant benefit of working with Epson.

‘Epson and HMF are like-minded organizations who share a mission to create a more sustainable future. It is wonderful to partner with a company that is so focused on finding ways to ensure it is sustainable while helping its customers make better choices as well,’ added Webster. ‘Sustainability is at the heart of our work, which meets 13 of UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are conscious of our carbon footprint and are currently piloting new projects such as moving from plastic to glass bottles at the milk bank which will require bespoke labels to support the recycling process. We are very grateful for the support Epson provides and we look forward to continuing this innovative sustainability work together.’

Gavin Thurston, business development manager for Business Systems at Epson (UK), added: ‘We were delighted to be able to find a solution that worked well for the demands the labels would have to manage. We identified a label stock that would perform well, despite the temperature range, to ensure every container was processed correctly and delivered to the right destination. We look forward to continuing to support HMF in its vital work.’