The printer and calender, bought together from Agfa, will be delivered on 18 September, with Artisan Signs expecting them to be operational several days later.

The machines will join Artisan Signs’ existing lineup of a Mimaki UJV320, Canon Arizona 550 XT and HP Latex 560, allowing the firm to print dye-sub work in-house for the first time.

Managing director Graham Davey told Printweek he expected the additions to add around £200,000 to the company’s bottom line over the next 12 months, with room for growth beyond that point.

Davey added: “We have been printing fabrics with our [Mimaki] UV printer for about six years now, and sending the prints out on a roll was fine – but we wanted to make it easier for our customers, by sending smaller packages, and get around some of the shortcomings of UV when you print onto fabric.”

Dye-sub’s durable, foldable prints seemed an obvious way of giving customers a helping hand, he said.

Having considered several machines across the market, the team ended up going with Agfa’s Avinci and Klieverik combination for the printer’s quality.

“It was just the best print quality out of all the samples we got,” Davey said.

“Getting a deal from Agfa just made the decision even easier.”

The Avinci, which can print at a top rate of 205sqm/hr onto polyester fabric or transfer paper, will likewise help the firm expand its presence in the exhibition market.

“Talking to potential customers, in order to win them over we needed to have the dye-sublimation production in place,” added business development manager Jake Davey.

“Exhibitions graphics are one of our largest markets, and we want to pursue more in that side of large-format print.”

Artisan Signs is currently looking to add another member of staff to its seven-strong team to run the new machines at its Kettering site, which is due for expansion early next year to around 900sqm.