According to managing director Philip Sudwell, the company had looked at stitching equipment in the past, but always decided to keep sending it out to a local finishing house.

He said: "Digital has become bigger and we took on a lump of work that involved variable data. We couldn't send it out because we couldn't mix up the data.

"We still have a lot of litho work in large volumes and we are also running that on the machine, the digital part was just the tipping point. We don't have to think about sending out now and we can take control of the whole production."

Wiltshire-based Park Lane Press is running the machine, which features six feeders plus a cover feeder, at around 6,000 cycles per hour, with an aim to increase this speed.

He added that the £2m-turnover company would be looking to make further finishing investments in 2010.

"We are trying to bring as much in-house as possible; I have a few ideas up my sleeve. We will wait for Ipex, but now is a good time to buy kit, it might not feel like it, but it is a good time."