The company hopes that the new printing process will allow it to break into in-store and event markets which require high quality at a short viewing distance.

The new carriage for the four-colour 360dpi print process features four 256-jet print heads for each colour, giving a total of 4,096 jets. Six passes give a total of 24 layers of paint for each dot.

MMT European marketing services manager Nicki Hirst said: "Compared to ink, the paint comes off the paper and gives a much more three-dimensional effect. There's much more depth, and the colour gamut that you can get is much more extensive.

"There are many 360dpi printers out there, but you can still go up to them and see the dots. If you go close up to this print, you can't see any dots or lines at all."

Hirst added that a benefit of the cylinder system was a major improvement in registration for double-sided printing.

"Because there's no pulling, as you get on ink-jet systems, it won't distort the image and we can get the registration exactly right. It gives a fantastic double-sided backlight, and is excellent for night-and-day impressions."

Story by Josh Brooks