Brazil, who joined the company in April, has more than 20 years experience in the industry and has already brought in new photography, pre-press and print business.

Commenting on the timing of the appointment, F1 Colour managing director Ken Harrison said that, following a successful 2008, the recession had presented the opportunity to accelerate the growth of the business.

"It's not every day that we come across someone that has experience across all of the services that F1 offers and when things are tough it can be the best time to actually push on, rather than pull back," he said.

Brazil added: "I'm delighted to be joining F1 Colour, they're highly regarded in the industry. They've had some excellent account wins recently and I know I'll be working with a friendly, customer-driven team. I'm fully focused on helping them to grow and continuing to improve their offering."

Last year, F1 expanded its range of services by launching offshore prepress coupled with local account management, in partnership with Indian-based outsourcing company Express KCS.