The business, which also carries out document management and scanning, decided on the machine supplied by HP Indigo reseller Digital People to meet the changing demands of the market.

Richard Entecott, managing director at Document Options, said the expectations of a blue-chip corporate customer base "were moving beyond good quality copying and we needed high-end digital output of a more consistent, quality-focused nature."

According to Entecott, the company had experienced a number of colour consistency issues with its previous digital press from another manufacturer so it was necessary to make the HP investment.

"Both the sales team and production staff expressed increasing concern that the quality of output from our toner based machines was exposing us to the risk of losing business," he said.

He added that new and existing customers alike were demanding higher-quality work on a wider range of paper stocks.

The 22-staff business also runs kit including Heidelberg mono laser machines and was established in 1973.

Dan Patience, print production manager at Document Options, said the new machine "has already started to open up new areas of business for us, and our sales team are confident of its capabilities when they are talking to customers."

He said: "The sheets feed more accurately and therefore finishing tasks can be completed much faster."

The HP Indigo 3050 press can print up to seven colours at 4,000 A4 pages an hour in two-up mode. It offers resolutions of 812dpi and can handle stocks ranging from 60-350gsm.