The deal for 150m, which is set to be completed in February, includes intellectual property and research and development laboratories and ink and toner factories in the UK and the US.

Avecia's products include dye inks used in desktop printers and wide-format proofers and polymerised toners used in laser printers and digital presses.

Fuji's deal to buy the firm follows its acquisition last year of screen print and UV ink-jet ink firm Sericol.

"The driving force as I understand it is the ink-jet part of the business especially technology to improve the durability of ink-jet inks used in photographic printing this has been driven by the photo side of the [Fuji] business," said Fujifilm Graphic Systems UK director Keith Dalton. "Avecia's patent portfolio is significant in ink-jet. For Fuji ownership of intellectual property is critical."

Dalton added that both the Avecia and the Sericol acquisitions were signs of where the printing market and Fuji were heading.