Coventry tech firm bids to raise £2m from crowdfunding
COVENTRY print technology firm, LumeJet, is aiming to raise £2m to enable it to become the UK’s first crowdfunded digital printing machine and print head manufacturer.
The company said in addition to its photonic imaging technology, it was working on a printhead offering 50 times more output. The UV printhead has been proven in the lab for digital lithographic applications and it is now investigating new photosensitive coating technologies for volume applications.
“Whilst we will always protect client and partner confidentiality, even from shareholders, we have a list, as long as your arm, of major names in the industry that are in dialogue or working with us on a wide range of breakthrough printing applications,” said CEO Paul Anson.
“The applications include a variety of projects such as volume on-demand inkless packaging printing and the manufacturing of printed electronic components such as flexible displays, plastic logic components and low cost sensors.”
LumeJet, which has launched its bid on the Crowdbnk platform, is targeting an investment of £2m – for which it will give new investors a 20% equity in the business.
“Members of the public, angel investors and anybody from the print industry can register to become an investor,” said Anson, who was also a co-founder at Inca Digital Printers.
“I spend a lot of my time trying to explain to investors, normally involved in internet businesses, biotech and software, that the print industry is massive, diverse, and full of opportunity all over the globe. Then it occurred to me – the people that know this already are in the print industry and LumeJet’s culture is one of openness and collaboration. Let’s let everybody and anybody be a part of building a new print technology business financially as well as commercially.”
LumeJet has raised around £8m to date, mostly from private sources and publicly backed institutions. It has recently won its first industry award and this year it has presented at Buckingham Palace and No 10 Downing Street, when it was selected as one of the 10 most promising digital companies in Britain.
It was awarded Syndicate Deal of the Year in 2012 by the UK Business Angel Association. It welcomes investors interested in investing anything from £5k to £500k in its current £2m round, and aims to make new offers in 2015 to shareholders that get involved now.
Founder, Dr Trevor Elworthy, said: “To think big, you have to think differently these days. We have massive ambitions for our company and that takes cash – and who better to offer investment returns to than the very industry that has supported us thus far.
“Our S200 product is just the start of our plans and we are offering the people of print the chance to be owners and enablers of something massive and exciting, on the same terms as current investors.”
The LumeJet S200 is a photonic, digital printer and LumeJet’s first commercial offering. The inkless technology features LumeJet’s innovative, patented Digital Print Head, and works in a similar way to an inkjet using light, rather than ink to make tiny dots (less than 0.005 mm) on photosensitive media.
