The deal still needs approval from the German antitrust body but a spokesperson described the buy as "the first confirmation of our strategy to increase consumables revenues from 19-25% over the next few years".

Hi-Tech Coatings is based in Aylesbury and also has offices in the Netherlands. The spokesperson said it is yet to be decided whether the company will be subsumed under Heidelberg's Saphira consumables brand.

He said the acquisition could also form the basis to "build up a separate coatings business", although the mix of consumables offered within each country would depend on local offices.

All management and staff will be retained and Heidelberg plans to further expand the business.

Hi-Tech Coatings achieved sales in 2007 of €25m (£19.9m) mostly into the UK and Eastern Europe through a network of resellers. Heidelberg has itself been a reseller of the products in the same territories, as well as China, for a number of years.

Managing director Paul Bass said: "We have long been aware of how important it is to have links to presses and the printing process. This makes it a logical step to merge Hi-Tech Coatings and Heidelberg."

Heidelberg chief executive Bernhard Schreier said: "Using high-performance consumables on our machines makes customers more efficient and enables us to achieve margins that are not tied to economic cycles."

Heidelberg's share price rose by €9c to €17.76 at the time of writing.