US-based EFI, which claims around 60% of the American market share for MIS, has historically struggled to gain a foothold in the UK and mainland Europe.

Following its acquisition of Pace Systems in July 2008, the company is now targeting European expansion with its twin offering of EFI Monarch for large single- and multi-site companies, and EFI Pace for the mid-market.

However, the mature MIS market and unwillingness among printers to go through the upheaval of switching
systems may present the company with a significant challenge – one which could potentially be solved through acquisition.

Marc Olin, EFI senior vice-president and general manager of the Advanced Professional Print Software (APPS) arm, said: “We have been reviewing the alternatives of doing some significant marketing in Europe through print and direct mail, as well as the possibility of acquiring an existing MIS vendor with a large installed base.

“In fact, we’ve come close over the years a number of times and, as our chief executive said on our earnings call, we continue to look at good acquisition opportunities that can drive profits to our organisation. Any company we might acquire would have to fit the right profile for us, but we’re certainly going to review all of our options.”

The news comes after EFI revealed that its APPS division had posted its strongest ever quarter of MIS sales, with 20% year-on-year growth in Q4.

Over the full year, EFI APPS, which comprises EFI’s MIS, web-to-print, inkjet proofing and production workflow systems, recorded a turnover of $61.6m (£41.9m), marking its fifth consecutive year of growth.

Olin said the growth was down to the addition of Pace, which had driven a lot of new customer adoption, as well as interest in the Monarch Suite.