The drone, a DJI Inspire model, cost £2,500, and will provide an extra service to clients requiring aerial photographs or videos.
Ditto is currently waiting for the arrival of its formal license but already has 15 to 20 jobs lined up, including a flyby video of passengers on a North Sea ferry as part of the East Yorkshire Business Expo.
The local fire service also contacted Ditto to discuss the potential for using the drone as a heat-seeking device.
Ditto managing director Ron Fothergill said: “I started flying drones about two and a half to three years ago. I quickly wanted better and better quality on the cameras to see what was going on. When we first saw footage on a proper drone I was very excited but didn’t think that level would come to us.
“I begged and borrowed and convinced the wife to let me go out and buy a proper one and here we are.”
The DJI Inspire has a 4k video camera and takes photos with image quality of 12 megapixels. It is Fothergill's seventh drone.
Fothergill completed the five-day CAA training course in Richmond, Yorkshire.
He added: “It was interesting because you learn a lot about weather formation, there’s so much to learn. You have to put notices up to notify pilots when you’re flying. It’s a shame it’s getting such a bad reputation at the moment but it seems to have really captured the public's imagination.”
Ditto has also recently taken delivery of a Microtec Direct To Object (DTO) UV printer, with A1 flatbed size, for printing on a range of objects. It prints on objects up to 110mm high.
The Microtec joins Ditto’s current roster of kit, including a Ricoh Pro C7110 digital press, a 1.6m-Roland VS-640 and a 1.6m-Epson Stylus Pro 11880.
Ditto also recently won a tender to provide printing services, including flyers, leaflets and brochures, to Hull City Council for the Hull European Capital of Culture 2017. It began producing the work in early June after winning the tender three months ago.
With the purchase of the drone and the DTO printer, the £250,000-turnover company is looking to boost turnover by another £20,000 by the end of this financial year. It employs three staff.
