The litho and digital printer spent around £6,000 on the system. It first used a reverse osmosis system four years ago on the recommendation of its ink supplier. 

Carl Fleischer, managing director, said the company was in a hard water area with only one water supplier so it used the system to help keep colours consistent and protect the rollers from hard water.

"This is the second system we’ve bought. We got the first one in 2004 – we’d had problems with hard water in the past and it had a huge impact," he said.

Fleischer said he could not believe how well it preserved the rollers. "We used to replace them every 18 months. But after four years and 90m impressions the rollers were still in great condition," he added.

He said the system also improved the predictability and quality of the print. "There are a lot of variables in litho printing. The more predictable it is the more certain you can be of higher productivity," he added.

The system has been installed in the company’s new five-colour Heidelberg XL 75, which includes a coating unit and replaced the company’s existing four-year-old version of the model.