The  £1.3m order makes the company one of the biggest iGen houses in the country, with the new machines joining two iGen3 presses.

The latest shopping list for the Enfield-based marketing specialist included a Nuvera 100EA mono production press and a Stitchliner from Horizon.

The company cited continued growth in full-colour, variable-data-driven direct mail, as well as more mono laser personalisation as the reason behind the purchase.

Sales and marketing manager Andy Bailey said his company recently won a big finance-related marketing contract from a major blue-chip company.

"It's tough out there; marketers are saying we've got less money but need to make it work harder, and that's what we do."

Inc Direct, which employs around 50 staff, aims to double its turnover to £10m in two to three years.

Managing director Noel Warner said: "This is the final stage of our two-year investment and business strategy."

He said the Horizon Stitchliner would offer more capability with different formats and 100% integrity with a Lake Image Systems camera verification upgrade, the first of its kind in the UK.

Inc Direct spent £1m on mono and highlight colour and enclosing technology 10 months ago to "underpin" its strength as a cross-media and communications company.