The move, which was first mooted behind the scenes as far back as Ipex 2010, will see Duplo move further into the commercial print market.

Duplo's DC-745e is capable of cutting standard shapes for greetings cards, business cards and postcards – however, the Kongsberg table enables companies to cut and crease unique shapes, complementing the Duplo range.

Tony Lock, Duplo UK managing director, said that Duplo would focus particularly on the iXE-10 table, which is suited to the short-run digital sector.

He added: "We see so many of our customers outsourcing die-cutting because they cannot justify the volumes, particularly with the short-run digital jobs they are receiving. However, the margins are so good they cannot afford to turn it down.  

"The Kongsberg tables now allow us to provide our customers with a cost- and time-saving solution for this bottleneck."

Esko business manager Paul Bates said: "For many years Esko has helped the digital packaging and digital display printers move away from buying dies; this has made them more flexible and efficient in ever increasingly competitive markets.

"Today Esko feels the time is right to bring the Kongsberg die-less cutter to the short-run digital print market. Duplo, with its vast finishing experience and market knowledge, is Esko’s perfect partner."