The company bought a Mobi 500 semi-automatic book- and calendar-binding machine, along with a P500 heavy-duty 500mm working width punch for less than £30,000.

Initially, EPF made the investment in order to bring finishing in-house, however, the move has seen the company make its foray into calendar printing.

According to managing director Donna Holmes, the machines are perfect for the company because they are easy to set up and can handle varying run lengths.

She said: "On the first job we did we produced 500 tent cards, punched and bound in three hours. It is the only machine that does not give me problems. We had never done any wire binding at all before the Mobi 500 turned up – now we’re producing up to 600 books or calendars an hour."