The new purchase joined three Mimaki UCJV 300-160 UV-LED print-and-cut wide-format systems on 27 May at the drinks company's production facility in Milton Keynes.

The Anapurna cost £140,000 and will be used for printing graphics associated with Coca-Cola’s cold drinks equipment in the UK, including branding on the side of coolers and vending machines and compliance stickers. It introduces to Coca-Cola the capability to print polycarbonate fronts for its vending fleet, header panels for coolers and new materials such as magnetic substrates.

Production manager for cold drink operations Tony Davies said: “We chose the Anapurna after extensive testing and decided on the flexibility of the hybrid. We were impressed with the speed, quality, ink consumption and from visiting other users of their equipment. We looked at alternatives, but we felt that this was the best choice for us to meet our needs.

“Taking printing in-house allows us to be a lot more reactive to changes in branding, as well as producing high quality products at a much lower cost base. It allows us to print shorter runs and control our inventory at a lower level. Milton Keynes is the home of refurbishment for our cold drinks equipment.

“Now, we are looking at how we can support the wider business, as well as being fully self-sufficient on the full product range for our cold drinks equipment.”

Agfa’s Anapurna H2050i LED is a 2.05m-wide system printing six colours – CMYK plus light magenta and white – at speeds up to 127smq/hr.

Coca-Cola has been running its in-house printing facility in the UK for around a year, with the three Mimakis and a Zünd S3 cutter proving successful in giving the firm flexibility. Its print production is overseen by a team of four on 225sqm floorspace.