The machine, which replaced a 60in HP Designjet 5000, was installed at the firm's premises in Lewes, East Sussex in June. The company also upgraded its RIP to Wasatch v7.1 as part of the investment, which totalled around £14,000.

“The print quality on this machine is excellent. It also provides us with the ability to produce durable large-format work onto a wider range of materials. We have already produced work using digital wallpaper and also some magnetic vinyl’s for vehicles, which is a new area for us,” said managing director Jason Gadd.

“We were previously having to outsource a large number of jobs, especially exterior work, and with the SureColor we can now produce these in-house.”

The SC-S50600 uses two thin-film piezo printheads, running two sets of CMYK ink simultaneously, to print at speeds in excess of 51sqm/hr.

It can print on vinyl, canvas, clear film and photographic paper as well as banner substrates up to 64in (1.6m) wide and has a built-in dryer to ensure that prints are ready quickly.

“We also considered both Roland and HP machines but we thought that the output quality of the SureColor was excellent, not grainy like some other machines, and the eco-solvent inks were a tried and tested technology,” said Gadd.

The company, which has six staff and a turnover of around £400,000, produces items including folders, greetings cards, banners and exhibition stands for design and marketing agencies, local authorities, freelance graphic designers and other print companies.

Its recent projects have included check-in desk graphics for an airline at two major UK airports as well as a range of hanging banners produced for a number of libraries, which were printed onto a 100% polyester textile.