Glasgow-based J Thomson agreed the deal with the manufacturer at the end of August. The Primera MC saddlestitcher will arrive in November to replace a Primera E140, which the commercial printer has run for almost 10 years.

It will be followed in January 2019 by the Alegro, which replaces an Acoro that was bought secondhand in 2012 and was also beginning to show signs of its age.

Managing director Kevin Creechan said: “This deal was driven by the need for a new stitching line, though we had been looking for a new binder for about a year too. When we decided Muller Martini would be best we opened up discussions to make it a dual deal to keep it clean.

“Both of the previous machines have been fantastic, but are just showing signs of age – they are struggling to run at top speed now. The new machines are more automated, more user-friendly and make a significant difference in makeready times.

“When we buy machines, we don’t buy on price – I say if you buy on price, you end up buying twice. Our Muller Martini stitcher is 10 years old and still going strong. They are the best on today’s market and our significant investment reflects that.”

Muller Martini’s Primera MC saddle stitcher can accommodate runs of all sizes at speeds up to 14,000cph. The Alegro binding line can handle book sizes from ultra-small to A3 and is highly automated to reduce setup times.

Both machines will support work of varying run lengths coming off J Thomson’s two KBA B1 presses. As both machines are digital-ready, Creechan said that he would also “explore the possibilities” of finishing jobs from the firm’s two HP Indigo printers in the future.

J Thomson also runs MBO folding machines. It has a turnover of around £12.3m and employs 120 members of staff.