The 28-staff Nelson, Lancashire-based business placed the order for the machine at Ipex, where the high-speed colour digital press was launched.

John Spencer, purchasing manager at £2m-turnover Printoff Graphic Arts, said the bizhub investment, which will be delivered later this year, would allow the company to carry out existing work "but quicker".

"Konica Minolta has really listened to what the customer wants and the new features on the C8000 prove that. When it's installed, we’ll be able to carry out a greater range of high-quality, short-run work," he added.

Spencer said he anticipated the extra firepower will help the business to handle the work received through its Red Tie-powered web-to-print portal.

According to Konica Minolta, the bizhub Press C8000 can print at a resolution of up to 1200dpi using the manufacturer's new Simitri HD toner, which it claimed can produce ultra-fine quality prints.

The C8000 is being targeted at commercial printers and offset print businesses moving into the digital print arena. It can handle stocks up to a maximum of 350gsm when printing simplex and up to 300gsm in duplex operation.

Pauline Brooks, group product manager for the production print division at Konica Minolta, said: "Naturally, we are delighted at the success of the bizhub Press C8000 shown at the Ipex exhibition and the conversion of orders on the new machine has exceeded all expectations.

"We expect the bizhub C8000 to complement litho machines, giving the commercial printer the choice between running their jobs on offset or digital press."