A hArd-hitting - Plantin

Gilded Wine Labels
from Bordeaux
Profiles
imprimerie pujol // Wine from Bordeaux is famous the
world over and puts food on the plates of a great many
people living in the western part of france – including
the Pujol family. they specialize in wine labels and have
built up a loyal customer base thanks to excellent results
and customized equipment.
Beneath dramatic gray storm clouds lies man-made
calm and order. The Bordeaux region in southwest
France is dominated by a seemingly endless expanse of
vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see. In spring,
the vines are still bare. Gnarled and stunted, they cower
in the face of harsh winds in meager soil made up
of shale, sand and clay. And yet, many of France’s finest and most expensive
wines come from this region. Names such as Sauternes,
Graves and St. Emilion are revered among connoisseurs. The Medoc
area in the northern part of the picturesque Bordeaux region alone
has 1,000 vintners. Only here are they allowed to use the word
“Château” on their wines – whether or not they actually own a castle.
The wine trade has made the area rich and is still intrinsically linked
with the fortunes of many people living here. The Pujol family, whose
small print shop generates more than 60 percent of its annual sales of
2.5 million U.S. dollars (1.8 m. euros) from wine labels, is no exception.
The print shop’s customer base is made up of wine growers and
merchants – some of them customers for more than 40 years.
It all began on a modest scale. Jean Pujol, a printer by trade, and
his wife Raymonde started up on their own in an old wooden shed
with a second-hand press in 1967. They subsequently moved their
small company into the family garage. Their first two customers
were wine merchants from Bordeaux, and labels for fine wines soon
became the small family print shop’s specialty. The Pujols had three
sons and, by and by, two of them entered the family business. Jean-Luc,
the second eldest, trained as a commercial artist and since 1981 he 4
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