The significant investment was made through Xerox reseller Fast Technology and will complement existing Phaser Xerox 7760 and 8560 printers across its UK stores.

John Lewis will use the new digital kit to print a raft of marketing materials, such as posters and shelf presentations.

Stephen Masters, senior analyst of operational systems at John Lewis, said the investment was a necessary measure to remain competitive within the marketplace.

"We need to be able to produce effective and professional marketing and promotional materials, often at short notice," he explained.

The Xerox DocuColor 242 can print up to 40ppm in colour operation and up to 55ppm in black and white mode. The model can print at a maximum resolution of 2,400dpi.

"We were very impressed with the quality and breadth of colour offered by the Xerox printers; skin tones for example are typically hard to translate into print. These devices offer superior print quality and were more cost effective than other solutions we had looked at," Masters added.

Mark Duffelen, director and general manager of the Xerox UK and Ireland channels group, said: "In the retail sector, businesses have to be quick to respond in order to meet customer demands, and it’s this speed of response that will set retailers apart."