Confirming his reputation as one of Drupa's top spenders, Anton's chief executive John Knight placed a £10m order for three 12-colour Heidelberg XL105s within minutes of signing a £10m five-year plate and CTP deal with Agfa. He then completed Tuesday’s spree by spending £250,000 on a Kodak Nexpress.

Knight said: "Good investment is the only way to survive in the print industry. There's less work going round at the moment so we have to win more. Hopefully this investment is giving us the tools to do that."

In addition to signing a five-year contract for Agfa's new Energy Elite plates, Knight bought an Avalon VLF platesetter to help feed his hefty print arsenal.

Heidelberg chief executive Bernhard Schreier praised Anton Group for its continuous investment, before admitting that he used a picture of the firm’s seven Speedmaster 12-colour SM102s as an example of how an industrial printer should work.

He said: "The Anton Group has been a loyal customer over many years and we welcome this fantastic order.

"John Knight has understood the need for process efficiency as a key to remaining competitive in a challenging market."

Laurence Roberts, Agfa UK managing director, said that the direct mail giant's investment had mirrored that of its suppliers.

"We have continued to invest in product development and also maintained a high-level of technical support, which has helped us establish working relations with leading printers such as Anton," he said.

Heidelberg UK managing director George Clarke added: "After years of success with its factory of SM102-12Ps, the XL105 gives Anton the potential to obtain the next big jump in productivity."

Installation of the new presses, the first of which will replace the oldest SM102, is due to begin in January.

ANTON'S DRUPA SPEND
• 3 Heidelberg XL105s
• Agfa Avalon platesetter
• Five-year Energy Elite deal
• Kodak Nexpress