It incorporates six companies that Photobition worked alongside before it went into administrative receivership last year (PrintWeek, 23 November 2001).

Xpo Group in Leeds, which officially launched in June, has been created with the directors of Ark Display, Digital Plus, Media North, Gleneg Design, PLPR and DS Emotion.

"When Photobition went down, rather than building a new business from scratch we decided to look at our partners and pull together our skills to develop a new group," said Jackson.

The group will be established in the North where it already has a strong client base, but will also look at developing its presence in the Midlands and the South.

Its large-format ink-jet printers comprise two Xerox Xpress 54in presses, an Oc 5070 60in press, and a 54in Mutoh PJ-1304NX outdoor ink-jet printer. It also has two giant-format printers: a 3.2m-wide NUR Fresco and a 5m-wide NUR Blueboard.

"As Photobition developed, it added value either side to become a lot more design-led," said Jackson. "There are few points of differentiation in our market, but we are not just a large-format printer. We are able to take on a project from the earliest point."

Story by Rachel Barnes