Special Report | Hybrid Services The newly launched Mimaki UJ330H-160 hybrid UV inkjet printer
30 YEARS OF INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
AS THE PRINT INDUSTRY HAS DEVELOPED, SO TOO HAS MIMAKI’S TECHNOLOGY AND HYBRID SERVICES’
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE JAPANESE
MANUFACTURER. CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE AND CELEBRATE THE RELATIONSHIP AND MIMAKI’S NEWLY LAUNCHED UV HYBRID PRINTER, ASSISTANT EDITOR ANA LAMBERT HEADED TO CREWE TO VISIT THE HYBRID HQ AND TEAM.
Founded in 1996, Hybrid Services partnered with a virtually unknown brand in the UK and Ireland – Mimaki – to create a relationship that has since spanned three decades. Starting with 610mm cutters to handle coloured vinyl, and a flatbed cutting table – Hybrid was very much starting from zero as it partnered with Mimaki as its exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland. However, just a couple of years later Mimaki introduced its first inkjet printer, which was followed in quick succession by the JV2 and JV4 series’ pigment machines, which became popular in the graphics and display sector. Then in 1998, Mimaki launched its very first textile printer, the Tx-1600S, further cementing its recognition in the UK and Ireland. In the early 2000s, the JV3, Mimaki’s first solvent
printer, was launched, and Hybrid and Mimaki cemented their influence in the UK and Ireland both in the print, textile and sign and graphics industries. Then 20 years ago, having always been based in Cheshire, Hybrid to a new HQ in Crewe, giving them a polished showroom, large warehouse and significant office space, where they have been based ever since.
HYBRID AND THE INDUSTRY Over the years, Hybrid has developed many relationships with resellers and customer throughout the sign and graphics industries. Duncan Jefferies, head of marketing for Hybrid Services, explained that 30 years was a great achievement for the company and an important part of that was down to the
22 | June/July 2026
relationship they have with their resellers. “30 years is a fantastic achievement for the
company. We have a fantastic relationship with Mimaki, and it’s wonderful to be associated with them for such a long time and to share success with them. “A lot of that shared success is also with our
resellers, a lot of whom we’ve worked with for a very, very long period of time.
The lightbox is double printed to produce an illusion of seeing the inside of the car
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