Previously it had only been possible to cross-web stitch printed products in the press, which limited the process to tabloid-sized products, A3, A4 and mini-Berliner.

According to Tolerans, its new technique, lateral stitching, enables printers to handle larger formats, which it claims is a world first.

The company intends to commercially launch two ribbon stitchers for lateral stitching: a quarter-folder stitcher and a broadsheet/Berliner stitcher.

The quarter-folder stitcher is mounted with one cylinder on each side of the conveyor belt, between the chopper folder and the main folder. For broadsheet products, the stitcher is mounted with one cylinder on each side of the former board.

Chief executive Jan Melin said: "We are proud to be the first company in the world to introduce lateral in-line stitching to the market. Stitching quarter-folded products inline is a far more cost-efficient process than stitching off-line, so there are significant cost-savings for printing houses.

"We are also proud to finally enable stapling of broadsheet newspapers. Our research undertaken with newspaper readers clearly shows they want a newspaper that stays intact. And so do the advertisers."