The machine was installed alongside a 10-station, deep bin VAC-Turbo 100 Powercollator.

Leicester-based Flexpress installed a Ryobi 785E B2-format five-colour offset press in late 2010 and managing director Steve Wenlock said that the investment was made in order to move the company away from unprofitable long-run work.

He said: "We took a good look at our business and decided that moving into the periodical and book market would help us iron out the peaks and troughs we were experiencing both with workload and pricing. With the improved efficiency in the pressroom we needed to bring the finishing into line."

Wenlock added that the company had more than doubled its productivity since installing the booklet line.

The 4,500bph machine can store up to 200 jobs for instant recall and is able to trim SRA3 sheet sizes down to small booklets.

Flexpress expects to turnover £1m this year and currently employs 11 staff.