The Leeds company has received a Local Growth Fund grant to help with the deposit for the new device, and will create three new jobs as a result of the support. It gained the funding via the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership.

The circa £350,000 Vutek will be installed at ImageCo’s 2,800sqm site in Hunslet next month.

It will give the firm additional capacity alongside its existing equipment, which includes Durst Rho 320 and 700 printers.

“We’ve been picking up a lot of work that is more Vutek type of work,” explained director Nathan Swinson-Bullough.

“The range of jobs we produce is so diverse, and with the Vutek we will have the option of printing white ink under or over. It can operate as roll-to-roll as well, so will be back up for our Rho 320. It’s a really versatile machine.”

The Vutek has a 3.2m print width and can print onto substrates up to 5cm thick. It has a seven picolitre drop size and prints at 600dpi or 1,000dpi at up to 223sqm/hr. The LED UV device uses EFI’s cool cure technology and can print onto a wide range of substrates including heat-sensitive materials.

It is configured with CMYK plus light cyan and light magenta, and two whites for the multi-layer white facility.

ImageCo produces a wide range of large-format work, including indoor and outdoor signage, exhibition graphics, lightboxes, prototypes and bespoke graphics.

The company employs 26 and has sales of around £2.5m. Swinson-Bullough said the firm will take on the three new members of staff over the next 18 months, starting with a salesperson, and is also looking at taking on further apprentices.