"We were farming out 60%-70% of our finishing because we did not have the equipment," said printing finishing manager Nigel Willis.

To resolve the situation the Alton-based firm installed a Shoei Star combination folder from Encore Machinery, and a Muller Martini Valore stitching line with four feeders plus cover.

Before the kit went in the 15 staff B2 commercial printer, which specialises in high-quality brochures, was spending around 70,000 a year outsourcing its folding and stitching work.

"There are still one or two specialist jobs that we send out, but only where we don't have sufficient work to warrant investing in the equipment," said Willis.