The two companies sealed the deal, which is effective immediately, at Fespa Digital.

Robin East, group director of Berkshire-based CMYUK, said the firm would be setting up a demonstration facility within the six weeks.

The Vortex is fitted with five Memjet drop-on-demand thermal printheads, has a print width of 1,067mm and prints at up to 1,000sqm/hour.

It costs around €79,500 (£64,400)

“It’s very exciting, we’re looking forward to positioning it for a wide variety of applications,” East said. “A couple of customers have seen it on YouTube and thought the speed was a spoof – they thought it was too fast to be true!”

The Vortex 4200 was officially launched at last summer's Fespa show in London. RTI has sold one Vortex 4200 so far in the UK, to an unnamed end user with a very specific application for the device.

Peter Barton, RTI director of EMEA business, said that by comparison, companies in the Middle East, Turkey and Israel had become earlier adopters of the high-productivity device.

“You can do an eight-hour day’s worth of work in one hour. It frees up a lot of time for other tasks,” Barton said.

East said the Vortex’s ultra-high productivity meant users could think differently about some of their business parameters. “You need to take a holistic view. It gives users the opportunity to be extremely reactive.

“For people with very high-end presses it’s a great ‘get out of jail’ card. It can provide contingency in a number of areas,” he added.

CMYUK also sells the EFI Vutek range, as well as kit from HP, Mimaki and Zund and a selection of specialist substrates.

RTI president Erik Norman said: “We’ve been looking for a partner who fits Robin’s profile, and here he is. CMYUK’s experience with high-end Vutek equipment fits in nicely.”

Pictured shows, left to right: RTI chairman Nick Dendy, CMYUK's Robin East, and RTI sales manager Adam Booth.