The portal was launched earlier this month and offers a hosted service that gives end users the tools to upload, edit and create a design.

The user is notified of any errors or problems and how to fix them and the final design is then turned into a print-ready PDF file, avoiding a situation where the printer has to contact the user to fix problems.

Director of Hatfield, Hertfordshire-based Datum CP, Scott Pearce, said: "We've been looking into this area for the past six or seven years, but everything we've looked at has been over-complicated or too expensive. Standardising this important part of our revenue stream allows us to maximise our profit and minimise the hassle of dealing with labour intensive, short-run clients."

Benjamin Dives, founder of designthing, said that the company is also working on a customised version of the service for another printer that includes options for spot varnish and contour-cut edges which is fully integrated into the client's e-commerce platform.

It will also release a version of the service aimed at greetings card design.

The designthing service is available for a one-off cost of £1,000 with no ongoing hosting charges from www.getdesignthing.com.