The machine, which cost around £22,000, was installed on 19 January, initially with the aim of assisting with a contract to print around 4,000m of pasted wallpaper for a client, using supplier Papergraphics’ Digimura Fino Digital Wallcovering. 

Once the contracted work is over, it will be retained to work alongside the firm’s pre-existing HP Latex 360, mainly doing bespoke wall covering work. 

"One of the reasons we bought the 570 is that it is a little bit faster than anything we have, we probably couldn't have relied on the 360 to do this on its own,” said ImageCo director Nathan Swinson-Bullough.

“For this application the machine needed to be odour-free so one of the main selling points is there is no odour on the wallpaper, whereas our UV machines give a strong odour. Then there’s the quality: 1,200dpi, which is fantastic."

The 1.6m-wide Drupa-launched 570 is said to be 30%-50% faster than the 360, printing at speeds of up to 23sqm/h and taking a variety of substrates up to 0.5mm in thickness. The six-colour (CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta) machine also features a spindleless pivot table, meaning rolls can be loaded up in less than a minute.

“It will give us increased capacity and flexibility in what we run. We’re looking for new work and want the ability to take on more,” added Swinson-Bullough.

Leeds-based ImageCo was a recent beneficiary of a Local Growth Fund grant, which it used to expand its wide-format digital offering with a new EFI Vutek GS3250LX Pro and bring in three new members of staff along with an apprentice. Two of the new staff have been hired in the sales department and one has gone into production. 

The 26-staff company produces a wide range of large-format work, including indoor and outdoor signage, exhibition graphics, lightboxes, prototypes and bespoke graphics. It has sales of around £2.5m.