The Crawley-based firm will have access to the complete range of the German consumables supplier’s products but will start by offering a selection of its most popular fount solutions and printing aids including ink additives, and gels and anti-oxidant sprays.
The deal, which began three weeks ago, came about after Pomeroy Pressroom Products, which was formerly the UK’s main Vegra dealer, went into voluntary liquidation in April.
Poole-based printing ink supplier Druckfarben bought Pomeroy's database and can still source Vegra products for its customers but Ink & Print is now the main UK dealer of the range.
Ink & Print has sold Vegra products, sourced via Pomeroy, before, but for the past two years it has bought them direct from Vegra with which it has established a strong relationship.
“I think the product has drifted over the past couple of years and didn’t perhaps have much energy and enthusiasm put behind it. Vegra wants us to re-establish the brand and let people know that it’s still available," said managing director Clive Harper.
The firm plans to spend the remainder of 2014 re-introducing the products to new and existing clients before it starts actively promoting the range next year.
The company hopes to fill the middle space of the consumables market between the higher priced products from OEMs and cheaper alternatives available from the Middle East.
“We sell directly to end-users and we also have a healthy distributor network. We’ve got to let people with Epson, Canon, Mimaki and HP printers know that we’ve got consistent and quality branded products that work well and have a warranty,” said Harper.
“They may cost you a little bit more but you get value for money in terms of performance and we know the industry well so can provide technical support.”
Ink & Print, which was established in 2006, has six staff and a turnover of £1.2m. It supplies consumables from companies including Kinyo, Ultrachem, KSL and Sun Chemical to B1, B2 and B3 commercial offset printers based predominantly in the south of England.
The firm also runs a distributor network, supplying around 30 distributors with branded products, and supplies a range of wide-format inks and media from Van Son.
