Another investment deal with a Leicestershire company has been announced by Catapult, the company tasked with the management of the East Midlands Regional Venture Capital Fund.

Dig-ePrint, based in Coalville, first contacted Catapult last year and is looking to relocate again, probably within the Hinckley area, to accommodate its latest expansion plans.

The company was formed in March 2001 to commercialise and patent technology originally developed at the Coventry-based University of Warwick.

The new technology will allow Dig-ePrint to manufacture and sell a special digital only image-processing machine that will create high quality prints on real photographic paper for all size high street photographic and retail stores and revolutionise the digital print service. The machine, which is similar in size to a large photocopier, is much smaller than a traditional minilab and will also cost in the region of pounds 30,000 compared to the current chemical only or combined chemical and digital minilabs costing anything from pounds 70,000 to pounds 150,000.

The first machine will be available later this year and inquiries are already being handled from large multiple retailers and larger laboratories -both in the UK and abroad.

Trevor Elworthy, managing director of Dig-ePrint said: ‘The funding we have received has been split into two stages, stage one funding has been used to finalise the prototype and begin production.

‘Stage two will be used for sales and marketing, initially in the UK, then throughout Europe and eventually worldwide.’