The Bishops Stortford-based business installed a DBM 350 stitching line with ASM, DSF 2000 feeder and barcode reader and a DC445 Ducreaser.

According to operations director Giles Bowes, the investment has allowed 17-staff Concept Communications to halve production time on a 30,000-booklet run it handles regularly for one of its clients.

He said: "We are seeing a lot more personalisation work, some very complex stuff, and something like barcode reading technology was critical. The investment has made us a lot more efficient in this area.

"It also gives clients more choice, we can offer squareback as well. It is not for everyone, but once you start to get bowing squareback is a great solution – it's another solution we can offer."

The £1.8m-turnover company is also anticipating further investments to aid its personalisation work, which it believes will continue to grow.