The Norwich company said its designer clients had been asking for more and more pockets and sleeves for CDs, and digital print manager James Palmer said that this led to the development of a new product along the same vein from Xactive.

Mysteriously, the product is yet to be launched and details cannot be revealed, but Palmer said it is hoped that the undefined creation will be unveiled shortly.

He said that the new development was most akin to a CD sleeve but was not intended for conventional CD housing.

Xactive has been running one size testing jobs for the new product on the Petratto Metro Mini, which recently changed its name from the Digi Folder Gluer, since it was installed in November.

Palmer added that the digital folder-gluer, supplied by IFS, was chosen following an extensive selection process after a number of machines were viewed at Drupa and follow-up visits, including one to Petratto’s Italian headquarters.

He said that the Petratto was best suited to produce the size desired for Xactive’s new launch and enabled them to produce as many or as few pieces as needed.

Palmer said: "There is nothing like our new product on the market. It is in the early stages but we want to develop a new website for it and recruit a couple more staff to help.

"We are running tests on it and got it in ready for the launch, it is not running at full capacity just yet."

The product cannot be patented, he added.

IFS will be hosting a stand at Packaging Innovations at the end of this month, where it will be showcasing the Petratto Digi Folder Gluer amongst an arsenal of other machinery from its suppliers.