The deal for the remaining 66.6% was announced yesterday (22 Dec) and should complete in the early part of the new year.

The two companies first came together in October 2015 to form SpeciaLase, a strategic partnership that introduced DataLase’s inline IDP technology and heat-sensitive pigments into the Japanese and Asia-Pacific markets.

DataLase chief executive Chris Wyres said: “We are pleased to announce this evolution of our strategic partnership with Sato and firmly believe this will enable our revolutionary inline digital printing solutions to be delivered to a global customer base.” 

Sato president Kaz Matsuyama said DataLase is a transformative addition to the Sato group, and that it would grow its innovative technology into a core business.

At Drupa, 26-staff DataLase announced it would be supplying its inline lasering technology to strategic partners such as Ricoh, KBA and Xerox. The technology is inkless, and has been used mainly in the packaging market, for small logos, barcodes and expiry dates.

A few weeks later it was named joint innovator of the year, along with Heidelberg, at the Stationers’ Company annual Innovation Excellence Awards, where it was praised for providing “digital printing technology with a difference”.

In August, it made two senior appointments, hiring Andy Wragg as European chief operating officer and Emma Dixon as finance controller.

2016 also saw Flint Group become the first licensee for DataLase’s Variprint technology, which enables real time messaging and variable data on packaging using a selection of monochrome colours.

Last year, Tokyo-headquartered Sato turned over ¥105,504m (£730m). It has offices around the world, including a sales office in Harwich, Essex.