At that time, he was installing glass sunroofs and hand cutting go faster stripes and graphics for customised cars, working out of the basement of his home.

Then I went to the sign show and saw a Graphix 4 machine, which had only just come out, on the Spandex stand. I was convinced it was the future, although not everyone thought so. I made what was a huge investment for me and signed a five-year lease on the very first Graphix 4, says Dave.

Dave moved from his basement into a small industrial unit nearby and used the new Graphix 4 to concentrate on sign making.

That investment in technology proved its worth and was the start of the business really taking off, says Dave. I've always been an early adopter of new technology. I purchased a digital printing capability in the early 1990s through an Encad NovaJet printer and was one of the first Gerber Edge users.

"But sometimes I'm a bit before time. When I first got a NovaJet, no one was interested, because there wasn't enough technology in inks and substrates and customers didn’t really know what digital printing was. One of the best things that ever happened for us was when the well-known Fort Dunlop building, which had been closed, was decked out in scaffolding and huge digital images put up. We could say 'have you seen Fort Dunlop', they immediately knew what digital printing could offer and were impressed."

Action Graphics became a Limited Company in 1988, concurrent with a move to specialist premises in Great Barr, Birmingham. Expansion into three different units on the same site followed soon after.

Visit Action Graphics website for more details.