Zing has ordered the kit after 18 months of research, with plans to take turnover at the family-owned business, run by husband and wife Russell and Karen Yates, from under £1m to £4m-plus over the next five years.

Russell Yates, managing director of Zing, said: "This is a great step up in our production level printing. The imagePress C6000VP represents the best machine in terms of quality and speed that we could see on the market.

"We have always been very customer-focused and this investment takes us to the next level of printing quality, which helps us to continue building our digital print business."

Previously, the company was a Xerox house but it switched exclusively to Canon for its digital printing needs.

Zing is a general marketing and design agency with on-site production facilities that manages everything from small-scale design to full structured marketing campaigns, much of which encompasses a print element.

The company, based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, was started in 1959 by Russell Yates’ father. It now employs 15 people.