The Rotherhithe-based business has taken delivery of the new machine to replace an outgoing 8000 model, which had completed its five-year lease.

The £200,000 investment can print up to 100 A4 pages per minute on a maximum sheet size of 330x488mm. It can also handle stocks ranging from 55-350gsm.

Staff at £2m-turnover SPM analysed the digital colour market for six months, including a visit to Ipex, before opting to stick with Xerox.

Mark Sayer, operations director at SPM Print said the 1000 press will enable the business to broaden its service offering while increasing its competitiveness.

He added: "The addition of in-line spot varnish allows us to carry out jobs that other companies cannot do. The digital market, while not saturated, is more competitive that it was five years ago.

"The Xerox 1000 gives us a step up as it marries litho-like quality with the benefits of digital print technology."

SPM has already used to 1000 machine to produce high-end tender brochures for housing associations that utilise the press's spot varnish module, which Sayer claimed had produced "fantastic" results.

"This investment was a natural progression for us. We've made it to keep us ahead of the game and it's doing just that," he said.

In addition to the company's latest digital press, SPM Print has also invested in a Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) van to boost its green credentials.

The 20-staff company, which has the ISO 14001 accreditation and is FSC-certified, has a proactive "rolling programme" to improve its eco-friendliness.