Harris was working in the print finishing department at a Leicester printer when he came up with an idea to revolutionise and improve the creasing process.

He honed the idea for his Tri-Creaser in his garage at weekends, assisted by his children while his wife was out at work, and eventually brought the product to market.

His company, Tech-ni-Fold, now has a worldwide customer base and turnover of around £2m. It produces a range of creasing, perforating and cutting products and also has a sister company, CreaseStream.

The book, Against the Grain, will chart his inspirational story and the trials and tribulations Harris has experienced over the years, including fighting legal battles over patents.

“The book will explain how I brought my product to market and made a success of it despite adversity and scepticism, but mostly it is very positive and hopefully inspirational for others who might want to know some formulas to generate ideas and develop products,” Harris said.

His original idea was championed by PrintWeek after Harris contacted the magazine to explain his vision.

“There is a story in it that I feel is quite amusing, that took place while I was still working in my day job for a print firm – Tech-ni-Fold was my sideline business and I contacted PrintWeek about my first sale, the editorial was published and I had to intercept the copies of PrintWeek magazine from my managing director’s office so he didn't read about my installation!

“That Printweek article led to over 100 calls and at least 35 sales – you could say that this one thing ignited my company and got me to give up my day job.”

The book is being published by Rudling House and will be available to pre-order in the next few weeks.