The company has also invested in new mailing and front-end equipment.

Around 20 staff from Colin Clapp, which went into administration alongside sister company LDH Mailing last month, have made the move across to Blue.

They include a personalisation expert, several sales staff, a mailing manager and several members of the production team.

Paul Mursell, Blue managing director, said the company could now call itself "an expert in mailing".

He said: "We have not bought anything from Colin Clapp, we have just taken on staff and given people jobs.

"Bringing in these staff has bought us that understanding. The guys have brought some work with them and it has given us a good bit of growth. We have brought in mailing expertise."

Blue announced last month that it was moving out of East London and into Harlow, where its new site is beginning to take shape. A secondhand KBA 10-colour B1 machine has been installed at the site and began operating today.

The company also announced a range of investments to complement the KBA, totalling around £650,000.

It has bought a Delano CTP system from Agfa, alongside a 5050-colour machine from Océ and a Heidelberg multi-mailer.