The Swindon-based company bought the machine because its work profile has moved from long-run to short- to medium-run work.

Joint managing director Wayne Rumbold said: "We needed a machine that combined fast makereadies with a good running speed. Now, job-to-job downtime is less than 20 minutes."

The JDF-ready Stitchliner features fully automated makereadies and works from flat four-page section. It runs at speeds of 5,500bph, has an icon-based LCD touch-screen for easy set-up, and job memory storage for quick job changeover.

Rumbold added: "The ability to interrupt work for a quick job is a great bonus. We can easily stop work, put another job on and then go back to the long run job – it's a revelation.

"Because operation is so simple, staff can be trained up very quickly and can easily move from one system to another. It also means we don't have to wait for more skilled employees to become available."