“The Jetrix was just simply the obvious choice. The extents of the jobs we are getting involved with are constantly expanding and so the versatility of this flatbed means it will really complement what we already offer,” said Elmtree director Ian Powell.

The circa £140,000 flatbed was delivered last Monday and was in full production two days later after the Elmtree team had been trained.

The 2.5x3m device has a top speed of 78sqm/hr and can be configured with up to eight channels running CMYK plus light cyan, light magenta, double hit white or white and varnish or primer.

It is the first flatbed at Southampton-based Elmtree, and joins two latex printers and a solvent roll-to-roll model.

“We’ve been looking at flatbeds for a few years now and we’ve got a few construction clients. It will open up a few new opportunities for us,” said Matt Thornton, general manager.

The firm bought the machine via InkTec reseller Papergraphics, having worked with firm over several years.

However, following a demo at InkTec’s facilities the manufacturer asked Elmtree to wrap the the cars of four InkTec engineers.

“They had been driving around in plain white vehicles, and knew that we had done a lot of wraps, so asked us to put some branding on for them,” said Thornton.

Ben Woodruff, head of UK Jetrix sales added: “It just made perfect sense to get the cars branded while we were doing the installation.

“We knew they were great at vehicle livery and it was perfect timing. What’s more they took the elements we wanted on the cars, came up with the design, then printed and applied it – all while our team were there.”

Elmtree has been trading since lockdown, although it briefly suspended production in the first weeks, with some of its circa 18 staff on furlough.

However, it’s now back up to full production capacity with all staff working and is trading at near pre-Covid levels.