Wood, who joined the managed service six weeks ago, said DAM was "part of the printing process, but doesnt necessarily have to be part of the printer".

The Marque2 system has been tested over the past year by three major customers of William Caple, Adares Leicester-based print plant.

It is now being launched as an independent firm and will remove the existing barriers preventing firms from adopting DAM, said Wood.

"DAM can be expensive," he said. "Low-cost systems exist but they dont solve the problem, while enterprise systems could solve the problem but at a large price. Open access can also be required, which represents a risky move."

The Marque2 system charges day consultancy rates for a full audit of a customers business processes in the design, production and delivery of its brand-related assets, then cataloguing, uploading and archiving them onto its hosted site.

Once the system is operational Marque2 will charge customers a monthly subscription fee.

"There is no point in creating a strong brand image if you cant deliver it effectively and consistently," said Wood. "The challenge is to maintain consistency of a brand over time. The discipline imposed by strong DAM is the most effective method to achieve this."

Marque2 will initially employ 10 operators to run its system, and will move to a new office near Leamington Spa later this month.

Marque2 is using Heidelbergs JetBase DAM system. Wood said he hoped to explore JetBases workflow capabilities.

Story by Gordon Carson