The Washington, Tyne and Wear-based company said it is currently operating at full capacity and has been "chock-a-block" since buying Newcastle-based Tyne Valley Continuous 18 months ago.

Whittle's managing director Adam Goodwin said: "We are so busy at the moment, even after installing the new press, which has increased efficiency greatly.

"We're quite up-to-date with our technology but would consider buying another press when the time is right.

"We have a need to make things more efficient and prove to our customers that we can produce quality print on time, every time."

The Ryobi 524HXX can run at 13,000sph and handles paper sizes up to 520x375mm.

Sixteen-year-old Whittle Printers deals mainly with commercial printing such as leaflets and brochures.