The £500,000 push also includes a new Duplo DC-646 Pro slitter-cutter-creaser, the replacement, last month, of four ageing HP Z6200s with new ones, and the investment in an EFI Vutek at the end of last year.
The Lumejet S200 investment marks a return for the Farringdon-based printer to more specilaised photographic printing. Along with POS, wallpaper and large-scale installation work, the company also produces pitch documentation and photobooks.
The new Lumejet will enable the company to produce higher quality products and to branch out into other kinds of consumer photo printing, including panoramic photo prints up to 1m wide.
“We believe our current client base is looking for much better quality than what’s currently available with HP Indigo technology,” said managing director Alan Rigglesford. “Lumejet print has no visible dots so it gives a photographic quality, continuous tone. Quality is crucial for pitch documents and can make the difference between winning and losing a contract."
Clicks also hopes to invest in new web-to-print software by the end of this month, to assist in its move into the photo products market.
A key new product will be the panoramic photos, said Rigglesford. “IPhones let you take these great panoramic shots, but when you print those on standard A4 you’re not getting the whole effect,” he said, adding: “When someone wants a run of 250 photobooks the Lumejet can’t compete with the Indigo. This is for specialised, short-run work.”
Clicks hopes to boost turnover from just over £4m to £5m-plus within 12 months.
Jamie Tedman’s appointment to the newly created position of sales director will be crucial to this, said Rigglesford. Tedman joins from Covent Garden-based LightBrigade, where he was head of group sales, and has previously worked as new business leader at Service Graphics.
Tedman will lead a sales force of five which Rigglesford hopes to grow “organically”, alongside further pressroom and production staff investments.
Tedman’s appointment follows a recent change of management which saw ex-managing director Dave Spaul retire and two new board appointees, Rigglesford and production director Graham Leggett, take the reins.
Other equipment at Clicks includes two HP Indigos, three Zünd cutters, a Fujifilm 1600 LED printer, two flatbed Inca Spyder Vs and two HP latex inkjets.
Clicks is the fourth printer to invest in the Lumejet S200.
