The 1.4m-wide 310 was unveiled last week (24 April) along with the 1.6m Latex 330 and Latex 360.

The Sign-It deal was orchestrated by HP reseller Perfect Colours and was part of a £11,949 package that included an upgrade to its SAi Flex software, a set of inks, the RIP, workstation, delivery, installation and support. Sign-IT also spent an additional £3,000 upgrading its IT kit.

Sign-It owner Carol Davies said that the company had been considering a latex machine for some time, with the 310’s entry-level price tag and quick drying time finally clinching the deal.

“Though it’s a big investment for us, it’s more affordable for smaller sign companies whereas before latex was a little out of our league,” said Davies.

She added: “We wanted a printer where we could take the product straight off the machine and laminate it. This will allow us to offer much faster turnarounds, as we're finding everyone wants everything yesterday these days.”

The Latex 310 will be used mostly to print the vehicle wrap and decal work previously processed on Sign-It’s Roland print-and-cut machine. The Roland machine will now be used for short-run labels, vehicle marking jobs and banners.

The five-staff company currently has a turnover of around £750,000, which Davies hopes to grow to £1m over time.

“It would be nice to hit the million mark and take on a couple of other staff members this year, but we don’t want to get too big. We’re well known for the quality of our work and we think small is beautiful,” said Davies.

Maximum output speed for the 310 and 330 is 48sqm/hr and 50sqm/hr respectively in two-pass billboard mode, while the 360 can print at up to 91sqm/hr in single-pass mode. All three use HP's new 831 Latex ink.

The HP Latex 300 series will have its UK debut at Sign & Digital UK this week, before making its mainland European debut at Fespa Digital 2014.