Large-format printing, brought in-house

Dorset Council is a unitary local authority serving the communities of Dorset. Their in-house print team provides printing services across the council's departments — from community engagement materials and event signage to directional wayfinding and public information displays. Operating within public sector budget constraints, the print team must balance output quality with cost accountability, while responding to the diverse and often urgent requirements of multiple council departments.

The council's in-house print team needed large-format printing capability to produce banners, posters, and display materials without relying on external suppliers. Outsourcing large-format work created cost and turnaround challenges — departmental requests for event banners, community engagement displays, and public information signage often arrived with short deadlines that external suppliers could not reliably meet. Budget accountability is paramount in local government, and the cost of outsourcing was difficult to control or predict. The team needed a solution that would bring this capability in-house: reliable, cost-effective, and simple enough for the existing team to operate within their current workflow.

Colyer supplied the HP Latex 630W, a large-format printer selected for its reliability, cost-effectiveness, and suitability for the diverse applications a local authority requires. The water-based latex ink technology produces durable, odourless output suitable for both indoor and outdoor use — essential for a council producing everything from indoor exhibition displays to outdoor event banners. The Latex 630W's broad media compatibility means the team can produce posters, pull-up banners, backlit displays, and vinyl graphics from a single device, covering the full range of departmental requirements.

Bringing large-format production in-house transformed the council's responsiveness to departmental requests. Turnaround times for banners and display materials improved significantly — from days with external suppliers to same-day production for urgent requirements. Cost per print reduced compared to outsourced pricing, with predictable running costs that supported budget planning. The range of materials the team could produce expanded substantially, covering applications from indoor wayfinding to outdoor event branding. The HP Latex 630W's reliability and ease of use meant the existing team adopted the new capability without additional specialist staffing.

Having a reliable large format solution in-house has been invaluable for responding quickly to departmental requests.

Dorset Council Print Team