The TS55-1800 will available from the start of 2019 at an as-yet-undisclosed price and distributed in the UK and Ireland exclusively by Crewe-based Hybrid. It will sit above Mimaki’s TS300-1800 in the manufacturer's line-up.

While the 1.9m-wide machine is available in a standard configuration, it can also be bought with an additional 'mini jumbo roll' unit, which is able to continuously feed 2,500m-long reels of heat transfer paper into the printer.

Hybrid chief operations manager Brett Newman said: “The TS55-1800 will set a new level for production and capacity in the dye-sublimation market and we anticipate that when people see the benefits of high-speed, low-cost production it will be extremely popular.

“It is aimed at businesses already within that market that want to increase their capacity, perhaps going from runs of around 10-20m to a few hundred, and it will be especially well-suited to applications such as soft signage and fast fashion.

“Mimaki has developed this machine as an answer to questions that have long been asked by its customers, and it proves that they are constantly pushing the boundaries on machine development.”

The TS55-1800 is fitted with Mimaki’s nozzle check and recovery system, as well as 10-litre ink tanks for continuous, unattended operation.

It prints at a resolution of 480x600dpi with speeds up to 140sqm/hr and runs eight channels, which can be configured with Mimaki's Sb610 inkset, available in CMYK plus light black, cyan, magenta and fluorescent pink or yellow. The use of Mimaki’s advance pass system aims to improve the quality of two-pass printing to eliminate banding.

The jumbo roll augmentation is designed to substitute the use of small plotter rolls and could, according to Hybrid, save users more than 20% in print media costs.

Mimaki will unveil the new printer in its first public displays at Sign Istanbul and C!Print Madrid in September and Viscom Italia in October.