Laindon-based Anton ordered the machine, which cost nearly £400,000, last September and installed it in earlier this year.

The Bograma is a versatile machine, which incorporates various elements of finishing in one pass. It features folding, stitching, trimming and die-cutting and can be upgraded with additional sections if required.

Anton's machine is now up and running and, according to bindery manager Michelle Knight, it is already saving the company time and money.

She said: "We have eight 12-colour Heidelbergs here and produce 1.4m sheets a day. But the problem has always been having a back end that keeps up with the front end.

"We needed an online finishing system and the Bograma is a different way of approaching things."

She continued: "Everything can be done in one pass and it can handle sheets four-up. We have saved masses on sheets and we have lots of extra options. It has cut out two processes, we don't need to touch the guillotine or the folder."

Chief executive John Knight is now challenging his finishing department to push the machine to its limits. So far, the company has put through simple jobs, but it is starting to produce more complicated work in order to see what the machine can do.

He added: "It is a bridge between the designer and the production process. Designers have many weird and wonderful ideas, but no idea how they are processed.

"There is a learning curve to go through – there is no model to apply – so we are learning on the simple jobs and investigating what else it can do."

He also hinted that the company may bring in a second machine in the near future.

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Anton boosts flexibility with third Stitchmaster ST 450