The move follows the news that the firm had consolidated its UV ink production at its Ypsilanti, Michigan facility.

Under the deal Nazdar will produce all Vutek's hard solvent products using their current formulations. Vutek will continue to develop its own inks.

"Traditional hard solvent ink is a mature market, which in part determined our decision," said EFI ink business vice president and general manager Scott Schinlever. "Solvent takes up more sqm to make per dollar of revenue. The main driver for us in moving ink production was a space consideration."

He added that solvent ink was a "stable" market with Vutek's growth and major development focused on UV printing, and particularly on developing new applications that use the technology. He added that: "While roll-to-roll UV was encroaching on solvent, it was still the lowest cost way to get high quality print."

Production of Vutek's BioVu solvent ink, which is derived from corn (maize), moved to Michigan.

"It's still a niche product due to the narrow substrate range and the issue of abrasion resistance on vinyl banner material, but we've had success with our OEM partner Mutoh," he said. "BioVu is working for Mutoh as an alternative for entry level hybrid machines."

The 5,000-6,000sqm of space freed up at Vutek's Meredith, New Hampshire factory will be used for a new training centre for printer operators and engineers, and is expected to open by the end of the summer.