The Darlington, County Durham-based business, which was established in 2008, opted for the SM 74-5 litho press to cater for a growing workload.

The husband and wife-run company is operating from its third premises in as many years and has experienced increased sales from print management, agencies and design companies.

Keiran Bayley, managing director of Addo, said the company had been in dialogue with its customers and realised it was "the perfect time" to invest.

He said: "We’re delighted with the support we have had from our bank and the finance company. Our suppliers have got right behind us after proving what we could do in our first three years of trading."

Addo opted for the automated B2 format press, which is up-and-running this month, and enables the company to cater for high-volume colour work such as brochures.

"Getting this size press was not the next logical step from what we currently use, but we needed to set ourselves apart, competition in the B3 market is rife and by going up a size we feel we can fill a gap," added Bayley.

In addition to the new press, Addo Printing plans to take on new staff in 2012. This year is has achieved the ISO 9001 standard for quality management as well as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of custody.