Expansion into new markets during the pandemic for Bristol-based Fountain Print has been helped by the acquisition of an HP Latex R2000 hybrid printer supplied by Papergraphics.

The company had focused on offset sheetfed litho with a specialisation in point-of-sale and retail, but in recent years has switched its attention to digital sheetfed printing and has purchased a number of new machines to support its change in operations. These expansion efforts accelerated in early 2020 when Fountain Print took on staff from a local exhibition company that ceased trading near the start of the pandemic. Now rebranded as Fountain Print & Display, the company operates as the display and events arm of Fountain Print.

To support this new venture, Fountain Print purchased a new HP Latex R2000 printer from Papergraphics. The machine was installed in April 2021 and works in tandem with Fountain Print’s Kongsberg X24 Edge flatbed cutting table. This coincided with the first stage of relaxation of Covid restrictions in the UK, and Fountain Print is now using the device to produce a wide range of work for new customers across the exhibition and events sectors, design and marketing agencies and local printing companies, as well as existing clients.

‘I viewed the HP R2000 printer as an opportunity to diversify into new areas of print,’ director David Peters said. ‘While we experienced a long ‘holding position’ due to lockdown, with things finally opening up again, our services are now increasingly being required across a range of markets.

‘With our in-house printing and finishing facilities, we are able to offer a rapid response to quite specific requirements, and while we are still exploring the versatility and features of the new HP Latex R2000, we are discovering new opportunities every day,’ he confirmed. 

Part of the reason for choosing the R2000 was that it was also well suited to work produced by Signboard Screen Process. Part of the wider Fountain Group of companies, Signboard is an established producer of estate agents’ ‘For Sale’ boards and associated supplies and services. Signboard Screen Process was using screen printing to produce the boards, preferred by some clients, but the had been struggling with demand for shorter run, multi-coloured ‘For Sale’ and ‘To Let’ boards and other coloured signage.