The machine completes a significant investment with Duplo, including a DC-645 cutter-slitter-creaser installed in the past year.

According to the Kent-based company’s managing director, Ed Arthur, the System 445 will complement its existing Muller Martini Valore saddle stitcher.

He said: "We want to be able to offer booklets from one right through to hundreds of thousands. The set-up time on the Muller is too much for shorter runs, but we now have that capability."

The company’s latest purchase marks its ongoing investment in digital print and finishing, which has been ramped up since Lefa bought commercial printers Schofield and Parham, Hartley Reproductions and Cadence in 2009.

Arthur said: "After these acquisitions, our strength was firmly in the litho area. However, we have been growing our digital business steadily and many of our customers are now moving in that direction."

Duplo’s Digital System 445 combines multiple finishing functions, including cutting, creasing and stitching, in a single machine.