Blink’s new HP Latex R1000, bought from HP dealer Perfect Colours, was installed in mid-January. 

Esther Butterfield, the firm’s managing director, told Printweek that the Latex’s water-based inks and eco-friendly performance had stood out of the wide-format crowd.

She said: “The HP Latex’s eco credentials speak for themselves. There wasn’t really any comparison for our needs moving forward.”

Blink - now 21 years in operation - has recently taken a strong interest in eco-friendly print, winning its ISO 14001 and FSC certification in early 2022.

Butterfield added: “This was the next sensible step for us really, in terms of sustainability and doing the best we can as a company.”

The £160,000 investment in a new Latex, she said, should help the £1.5m-turnover firm achieve significant growth as the machine now sits alongside its Agfa Jeti Tauro and a stable of other kit including litho and finishing machinery.

She added: “We got the machine because we knew it would open the doors for this work. And then we got the work because we got the machine.

“You have to be flexible like that.”

Training on the new machine went smoothly enough, Butterfield said, with HP training employees on the machine itself and Perfect Colours teaching them how to use the RIP.

“It’s fantastic, a great addition. The staff are enjoying learning something new as well, it’s brilliant.

“We can’t wait to see what comes of it.”

Blink employs 15 people at its 1,850sqm site in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.