The company, located near the capital Belgrade, already has a six-colour PV200, but needed the extra speed, resolution and, in particular, the white ink capability of the 3.2m QS3220 wide-format printer.

The new machine means the printer can branch out from its staple point-of-sale and point-of-purchase work to higher-margin projects such as interior decoration for shops, restaurants, nightclubs, and even homes.

In particular the white option means the company can print on glass, and the first job on the new Vutek was for a 10mm glass dividing wall in a city centre apartment.

The QS3220 was installed at the 34-staff company in late September, after general manager Zoran Skoric and his team saw it at this year's Fespa Digital show in Amsterdam.

The company is hoping it will enable them to stand out from what is becoming a crowd in the Serbian market.

A spokesman at the company said: "It used to be that we were the only guys with the new ideas and new projects. Customers were prepared to pay for everything.

"However, we've seen around 10 or 15 flatbed machines come into Serbia recently. With that and the recession, prices have come down and quality has come down. Now customers ask, instead of using board, to print on cardboard, or even paper, because it's cheaper."

Printing in Serbia has other challenges because, according to the company, while print is around a quarter of the price of the rest of Europe, consumables and paper cost the same. The company hopes to respond to this by looking into the possibility of setting up a sales office in either Europe or Russia.

Alongside the Vutek machines, Taffline also boasts two Mimaki machines, laser engraving equipment, an Esko cutting table, plus thermo folding and injection moulding kit. It prints for a range of domestic Serbian retail brands, as well as international names, such as Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker.