The system was supplied by L&M Imaging Systems in Halifax and installed at Arcane’s Birmingham base in mid-December, replacing an ageing Domino system.

The investment is intended to make the most of the discounts and improved tracking and delivery data available through the adoption of Royal Mail’s Mailmark barcode technology, which the Amica system is able to provide.

Director Steve Smith said: “While the Domino machine itself was not 20 years old, its technology was; the printing it could achieve was very basic and inflexible. This Amica system allows us greater flexibility in terms of graphics, fonts and typefaces.

“Our Domino could not print the data matrix barcodes required for Mailmark so it has been on our minds for a long time to upgrade the system. We stumbled across L&M while we were scoping out the market.

“It is our first high-quality inkjet system and is great for envelopes, postcards and one-piece mailers. We can offer single-pass mono prints including postal details and marketing strap lines. This was a big sum of money for us, so the investment has not been taken lightly.”

The Amico Morpho 216UV inkjet system is a single print module made of two 108mm stitched Kyocera printheads with a combined print width of 216mm. It prints at speeds up to 50m/min with a resolution of 600dpi.

At Arcane’s 1,580sqm plant, it runs alongside four digital production print systems from Konica Minolta – two colour BizHubs and two mono machines. The site also houses three envelope enclosing lines and two polywrapping lines from Buhrs as well as a number of folders and collators.

Smith said his family business could “handle a mailing campaign all the way through” and he would be working to promote the new capabilities granted by the Amica machine to both existing and potential clients.

With circa 20 members of staff, Arcane Direct Marketing is currently turning over £2.5m.