The publication, a 272-page special edition hardback of author Philippa Gregory’s Changeling, has been digitally printed with full colour chapterhead illustrations and images integrated throughout the text instead of in a traditional plate form.

The Quantum, CPI Group’s sixth in Europe but first in colour, combines HP’s T350 inkjet web press with Magnum’s Flexbook finishing solution. It is capable of mono, two- and four-colour printing onto standard substrates with no pre-treatment.

CPI said the machine provided a more cost-effective solution for short-run, full colour digital book printing, such as special editions or academic publications, and would allow "a small percentage of spot and integrated colour to be produced at almost the same cost as a mono product."

CPI chief operating officer Ian Smith said the "unique offer" would benefit both trade and STMA publishers.

Publisher Simon and Schuster, who teamed up with CPI to produce the book, said the advent of the Quantum meant trade titles were no longer restricted by plate sections. Supply operations director David Hyde said: "This is a game changer for UK fiction publishing."