The Taunton-based business took delivery of the first system of a two-machine investment, the Rho P10 250 HS with three-quarter automation and roll-to-roll, at the start of November.
This will be followed by a second P10 250 HS with three-quarter automation at the end of December.
The machines will replace an Inca Onset S20, which will be sold on, meaning that Durst will now be the sole supplier for Debenhams display graphics used in the stores.
The 2.5m-wide Rho P10 250 HS features LED Pin curing and prints at up to 400sqm/hr and at up to 1,000dpi.
The new machines will increase the firm’s print-on-demand capability as well as quality and firepower to enable it to cope with additional demands from store expansion.
Debenhams, which has 173 UK stores, has seen a requirement for much higher quality graphics for window and other displays, as well as more textile printing, at its stores.
The firm prints more than 1 million sqm display graphics per year. Director of print operations Chris Tester said the Durst investment means the business will be able to print and send posters and other graphics to all stores within 24 hours, providing the artwork is available.
“We’ve opened five new stores in the last eight weeks or so and the demand for high quality is increasing as well,” said Tester.
“Some of the equipment we have already isn’t up to the most challenging of demands we face whereas the P10s produce a higher quality across the board.
He added: “We’re also printing onto fabrics and using tension graphics a lot and the P10s do a very good job of that as well.
“We’ve already put over 20,000 metres of print through the already installed machine so it’s been pretty flat out since it came in.”
The business looked at a range of alternatives but chose Durst because the manufacturer’s machinery best fit its requirements for large-format window graphics.
The company already runs other Durst machinery including a P10 320R and a high-speed Rho 320 HS, which were installed two years ago.
It also operates a B1 five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster CX 102 with inline coating, which it bought last year, Xerox kit including an iGen 150, a Nuvera 157 and a Color 1000 and finishing equipment including two Esko Kongsberg XL cutters.
Magenta Print & Display employs 88 staff at its 5,600sqm facility and has a turnover of around £13m.
It produces reports, instore POS material, short-run press packs and a range of marketing literature for Debenhams’ stores, using its own print-on-demand system developed in-house, and outsources the retailer's direct mail requirements to the trade.
The firm also works with a number of third-party customers, primarily businesses affiliated with Debenhams including suppliers in the cosmetics and fragrance sector.
