Managing director Steve Robson established the company in 1995 when he was made redundant by the North East Electric Board. Previously, the manager of its in-house print facility, he went on to buy the plant's machines when he left.

Since founding Power Print UK, he has added to and upgraded the kit, as well as facilitated a move into digital print.

Robson said: "It has been a natural progression. Machines come along that are bigger and better. Steadily, we have replaced all the machines we inherited – although I still have a Polar 92 chugging away."

Before the Duplo purchase, all of the company's stitching was outsourced, however, the System 5000 has allowed it to keep more of the cost, and profit, of digital jobs in-house.

Robson explained that the company is now targeting short-run digital work, in addition to its existing longer-run.