Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but Océ will integrate the French company into its business in the third quarter of 2008.

Océ say the transaction is in line with its strategy to accelerate the company's growth in the wide-format graphic arts market, an area it believes is set to grow at an annual rate of 6% per year.

Intersoft was founded in 1998 and generates an annual turnover of £16.6m (€21m). It distributes printers, scanners and print media to the wide-format sector and employs 60 staff.

The company supplies a number of French retail chains and also develops and sells specialised workflow software. Through the acquisition, Océ will be offering the software products to customers outside of France.