Here's a plant list to conjure with: one eight-colour KBA Rapida 162a; one six-colour KBA Rapida 162a; two five-colour KBA Rapida 162as; one four-colour KBA Rapida 162a.

Can you guess where it is yet? Gold star to everyone who immediately piped up with "Butler Tanner & Dennis of course". I think we can safely describe BT&D as an all-KBA house, it's been that way for a good while. Until next year, that is, when the firm takes delivery of one of Heidelberg's new large-format Speedmaster XL 162 models.

Christian Knapp and his team at KBA must have been spitting feathers when news of this deal was confirmed. Given that orders for big presses such as this are as scarce as certificates of probity among Fifa committee members, it must be doubly galling for Knapp et al that Heidelberg has secured its maiden UK order with such a long-standing KBA customer.

No doubt BT&D is on the receiving end of a very favourable deal. That said, Heidelberg needs to be very sure that this press works exactly as promised, as it will be sitting alongside a fleet of machines from the established market leader in presses of this format. I understand Heidelberg was doing print tests for BT&D as far back as 2009, so the decision has been preceded by an extensive period of evaluation.  

One can imagine a hint of schadenfreude at Heidelberg's Brentford HQ, because KBA scored a similar coup when it secured an order for its Rapida 106 at Cambrian Printers, which was already an XL 105 user. However, the DriveTronic technology that has made the 106 such a hit in the makeready stakes is not yet available on the larger 162a.

All in all, it's already shaping up to be a very interesting New Year.