Borble installed the kit, worth just under 400,000, in its North Wales plant and is producing custom-designed wallpaper borders and banners as well as short run work for label printers.

"Our first jobs have involved a border for Wrexham Football Club featuring players' images, and work for Scottish Channel 4," said Gavin Scott, managing director of the firm, which launched in Rhyl in February.

"We hope to do classroom borders for schools with information like alphabets and history timelines. The kit's bloody brilliant, but unlikely to be in small printers' business plans. So we can take on all the short-run work and leave them to do the core work."

The machine's variable data X-800 digital front end allows the Xeikon 330 to print 14.8m per minute. Paper and synthetic media of up to 330mm-wide and 250gsm weights receive UV varnishing, supergloss, die cutting, slitting and re-reeling.

Scott and fellow director Barry Griffiths also looked at an HP4000 but were won over by the Xeikon's continuous print capacity, ability to handle a range of substrates and its standard of engineering.

Both men worked in flexible packaging and Borble will also offer a trade label printing service. They work with two other staff and are set to beat first-year turnover projection of 500,000, said Scott.

Story by Jez Abbott