The first B1 18,000sph Speedmaster, with five colours plus coating unit system, will be installed at the Birmingham factory in July. The second press’s configuration has yet to be confirmed as Alltrade may opt for a ten-colour machine; it will be installed before March 2013, following completion of Alltrade’s 11,000 sqft extension in November.

The machines join a press room exclusively supplied by Heidelberg and the second machine will replace Alltrade’s Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102. The company will retain the machine for seasonal work until the extension is completed, bringing the factory to a total 42,000 sqft ready for future expansion.

Alltrade is the largest supplier of retail calendars in the UK and targets niche markets at the high quality end of the industry, setting itself apart by doing jobs "that no-one else can do".

It offers an array of inhouse finishing options, including binding, laminating, shrink-wrapping and labelling, but said it has invested in the new presses to increase printing capacity.

Alltrade financial director Dilu Mukadam said: "We finish twice as much as we print. There is the potential to balance this but not the capacity. We want to offer the complete job in-house."

Mukadam added that clients now seek high quality and quicker turnarounds, adding that seasonal jobs are ordered later each year.

"By investing in more machines, particularly these with short makeready times, we are adjusting the time scale so we can cope with the demand. We have to change with the times – my motto is, change or be changed," she said.

Alltrade has been through between 30 and 40 Heidelberg machines across the plant since it opened in 1983 and believes the latest additions could increase turnover by 50% next year.