Through the tie-up M Partners will sell the entire portfolio of MGI's digital print and finishing machines alongside its other products.

Murray Lock, joint managing director of M Partners, said the MGI range offered end users "a real opportunity to add value to print production".

He added: "The potential to add value for both the printer and for M Partners is essential. We are certainly not a manufacturer and not a 'box shifter'.

"We must therefore seek specific areas of the digital marketplace where we, with MGI products, can make a difference and provide a capability that is not always available from other suppliers – something that allows our customers to make money from digital production."

The deal comes on the back of MGI appointing Printbyte, which now trades as MGI Technology, to distribute its products in the UK.

MGI Technology, which is based in Hemel Hempstead, supplies digital printers such as the DP60 Digital Press and the JetVarnish Digital Inkjet UV coater as well as its finishing products.

David Evans, managing director of MGI Technology, said the tie-up with M Partners will allow it to expand the sales of MGI equipment in the UK.

He added: "Many people view MGI as the best-kept secret in digital print due mainly to its somewhat "chequered" representation history in the UK.

"We are convinced that by working closely with such high-profile businesses as M Partners that we can significantly increase the sales of MGI products to UK print producers."