The firm invested in the machine, which will be installed in June, in order to expand its services, grow its business and move into new areas, such as the home decor market.

“We’re still going to do signage but we want to do more bespoke stuff too and try to find a niche market,” said director Paul Fox.

“We’ve got day-to-day work that we will use the machine for but it will be good to try different things too, such as fine art print. We’re excited to see what it can produce and what it can do.”

As well as CMYK, the 2.4x1.2m Mimaki JFX200-2513 LED UV flatbed printer offers white, clear and primer ink options. It produces high-quality output at speeds of up to 25sqm/hr and is able to print on a wide range of media up to 50mm thick.

“We also considered alternatives from Canon and Jetrix but we’ve got other kit from Mimaki, including its roll-to-roll JV33 printer and accompanying cutting system. The print quality on our Mimaki products is fantastic, but what really sold it to us was the excellent service from I-Sub,” said Fox.

“In the future we’re hoping to return to I-Sub to get another one in. We’re looking at the medium printer for the novelty side but we may look at another bigger one when we get the promise of the work in.”

The firm, which currently employs seven people and has a turnover of £300,000, signed the deal with wide-format reseller I-Sub Digital at Sign & Digital UK in Birmingham last week.

Graphic Station began as a commercial print company before moving into short-run digital and, more recently, into large-format work.