In March, the West London printer will install an Océ Jetstream 1000, making it the first of Océ’s Digital Newspaper Network (DNN) to move to colour printing.

The investment also includes a Hunkeler reel-to-reel line and two Hunkeler offline finishing lines.

According to Stroma managing director Steve Brown, the investment will create an almost instant increase in the company’s customer base.

He said: "There are so many positives to having colour, this is the Holy Grail for us.

"Advertisers see a black-and-white version as completely useless and with our titles going into places like the first class section on flights, embassies and high-class hotels having colour is crucial."

Independently and as part of the DNN, which allows newspapers to be printed in other countries, Stroma prints newspapers from all over the world.

Brown added that the timing of the installation played into its hands because of increased fuel prices forcing the price of exporting newspapers up.

He said: "The price of air freight is astronomical. It is a bitter pill to swallow for publishers because they are increasingly throwing money at an out-of-date product."

The company has a turnover of around £2m and employs 11 staff, but Brown said it would be recruiting at least two staff on the back of the installation and he estimates turnover will increase by 25% in the next year.