The worldwide distribution agreement heralds a major step forward for EBM manufacturer On Demand Books, which released the first version of the machine in 2006.

On Demand Books chief executive Dane Neller said that the deal marked a "natural fit" between the two companies, while Xerox claimed it would enable the company to meet "incredible opportunities" in the market.

The EBM, which was featured in Time Magazine's best inventions of 2007 list, can produce a 300pp book in less than four minutes and is sold with a copyright software system with access to 3.3m titles.

Printing books on-demand is increasingly attractive to publishers and booksellers due to the lower inventory costs, as well as the elimination of the risk of over-stocking on a title.

Xerox has already begun selling the machines in the US as part of a phased launch.