Cypher Digital - About Us



Cypher was originally started as an imagesetting bureau department within a local Applecentre in 1990. After a period of rapid expansion the department was purchased in a management buyout by husband and wife team Paul and Sue Calland in January 1995. The original industrial unit on Bridge End Business Park seemed vast initially, but within four years we had outgrown it and we jumped at the opportunity of moving to our present premises at Bridge End House. This had previously been a car showroom but was ideal for our needs; of a more prominent showroom, more production space and very important - parking for lots of cars!

The number of staff has grown to the current total of 15 and now has a vast range of complimentary skills in all fields of digital artwork production, design and print, as well as more diverse specialities such as web site production and programming.

Initially as well as the usual range of bureau services such as high resolution scanning, imagesetting, colour laser printing and contract proofing we were one of the first Bureau to install a Novajet large format printer. This proved to be a very popular service and the original 914mm/36" wide Novajet III was soon joined by another Novajet, then replaced with a 1066mm/42" wide HP 5000 and a 1524mm/60" wide HP 5500 six colour photographic quality printer for exhibition and display prints. We also have a 1117mm/44" wide Epson 7 colour Giclee printer dedicated to fine art work. In 2004 we were one of the first companies in the UK to install a completely new innovation in large format print technology – an Agfa Grand Sherpa Universal 87. This had a print width of 2,200mm or 7’ 3”, this is the 87” that gave the machine its name! As it is roll fed the final lengths of any prints are dictated only by handling limits on site. The Agfa used a completely new type of eco-solvent ink which was outdoor durable for up to three years and unlike the dye and pigment solutions we used it did not neccessarily need laminating, unless extra durability for handling or abrasion resistance was required. As we worked closely with Agfa we upgraded this within the year and were the first company in the UK to install an Agfa Grand Universal 90 AM. This was a 90" (2,286mm) wide and used second generation eco-solvent inks which were brighter and even more durable.

In 2007 we upgraded our highly rated dye based HP 5000 42" to a 60" HP Z6100 which uses the latest HP Vivera 8 colour pigment inks offering print lifespans of up to 200 years as well as unrivalled print quality. We also upgraded our Agfa printer to an HP 9000S which uses more durable low-solvent inks and although slightly narrower at 1600mm wide is much faster, allowing us to meet the shorter deadlines that are common in the display and exhibition market these days.

Large format finishing such as laminating and mounting is done on a GBC Falcon 1524mm/60" laminator capable of handling heat encapsulating and pressure sensitive materials as well as mounting onto boards up to 10mm thick. A full range of poster papers, films, polyester, cloth and canvas is held in stock, as well as 5mm - 10mm foamboards, 3mm-5mm foamex, MDF and DiBond (aluminium), ensuring that we always have enough materials to turn work around without delay.

We are dealers for the Ultima, Plex, Core, Wave, Flex, Metro and Linx ranges, amongst others, of exhibition stands and display systems and carry stocks of the more popular systems for immediate delivery, as well as having a selection of systems on view in our air conditioned showroom.

In January 2000 we installed an Indigo 5 colour digital printing press with full finishing facilities. The quality of work produced in some cases has been better than litho quality, and with a wide range of stocks from 100gsm up to 350gsm ranging from paper to self adhesive labels there is nothing much that can't be handled in short runs. We have been highly commended and reached the final shortlist in the class of Digital Printer of the year in the national Printweek awards. In 2005 we installed a new Indigo and invested in a suite of Morgana digital finishing equipment which enables us to offer even faster turnrounds on short run folded and wire stitched leaflets. At the end of 2006 we installed a new Xerox DC5000 digital press, replacing our Indigo press. The quality we can achieve has increased especially with jobs containing flat tints and solids, and the new press allows us to offer a wider range of stock from 90gsm to 350gsm as well as giving us a much needed increase in speed to keep up with the steady demand for digital print.

During early 2005 with the help of a Rural Regeneration grant we extended our premises with extensive building work to create a 1500sq ft first floor studio for our design, website and prepress teams. This also created free space on the ground floor for our large format and digital print production departments which were becoming more tightly squeezed in as we grew!

Many more of our services are detailed on the relevant pages of this website, along with prices where applicable. However we are always on the lookout for new services to offer so watch this website for further details...

And remember if you are not sure if we do something please don't hesitate to contact us and ask - we probably do it already, and if we don't we will put you in touch with someone who does!