The Surrey-based wide-format specialist has bought a second 1.6m-wide Mutoh 1614 solvent printer for 'near-photography-quality' print for its banners.

It joins a 5m-wide Vutek that produces 5x60m building wraps and will output smaller, higher-quality work, according to managing director Andrew Edwards.

The company, which has added five new employees, will be buying a 3m-wide Vutek with a view to doubling its turnover next year.

Edwards, also managing director of litho firm Total Print on the same site, has recruited Mark Lyne as divisional director and Anthony Sydes as design director – both from Enigma, a sign and graphics company based in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

Sydes will head up a new in-house design studio to work for recently won clients, including Vodafone's Formula 1 collateral and GSK's internal branding.

"Other companies are having to downscale right now, but we already had the right balance and the only way to go was up," said Edwards.

"We bought the machinery and negotiated a lease and started again," he added. "The original Lightbrigade from 12 years ago had a really good name and we want to get that back."

B&P Lightbrigade fell into administration in March 2009 following an MBO a year earlier. Its consumables division was sold out of administration to a new company set up by two previous B&P directors, Andrew Wilson and Lorraine Whitburn.

Two other former employees also set up another consumables business, RPSD Print Supplies, for wide-format printers in June last year.

Edwards set up Total Print 16 years ago as a small-format design and print company. He joined forces with businessman Paul Solari, now chairman of Light Brigade Graphics, in 2009 following B&P Lightbrigade's administration in order to exploit demand for large-format work.