The Darlington-based digital and litho printer, set up seven years ago by Tim Thompson and his father, John, has also replaced its Morgana DigiFold Mk 1 with AutoCreaser Pro 50 and AutoFold Pro machines from the same supplier.

Morgana technicians believe the firm's DigiFold Mk 1 made a record number of folds, nearing 3m, in its six years of production.

As well as business cards, Tim Thompson wants to expand his firm's sales in markets such as photo books and bar and restaurant menus.

Thompson said retail business was becoming increasingly important for the 11-staff firm and often picked up during quiet periods in the commercial market, such as bank holidays.

The Autobond laminator is supplied with an inline 36 SUV inkjet spot UV machine, enabling the company to produce single- or double-sided thermal lamination in one pass with spot UV on one side of the sheet.

Meanwhile, the Morgana kit, provided by County Durham dealer Inkland, will enable Sense to fold on the long edge of a B3 sheet - "ideal for restaurant menu work", according to Thompson.

Sense, which runs a Kodak NexPress, Ryobi 525GE and Zund die-cutter, also continues to invest in its 'ThatPrintThing' e-commerce system.

It is aimed at small- to medium- printers that want to sell a range of print online, and is being used in beta format by 115 companies, though Thompson is targeting 1,000 users when the system is fully rolled out.