Peter Davis, managing director at the Leicester-based business, said that the DigiFold 5000P is four or five times faster than its predecessor, running at about 4,000-5,000 sph.

He added: "Because the old machine was so slow we were putting work out. Now, a lot more is staying in-house and what we handle goes through much quicker as well. I would say that in the next 18 months we will make our money back on this."

Phoenix Colour was a repro house until 1996, when it began to specialise in digital printing.

The 15-staff company, which has a turnover of about £2m, runs an HP Indigo 5500 and a Xeikon 50 digital press, as well as short-run litho with a Presstek 52DI.