The company, which usually records around £750,000 per quarter, has just been through a period of investment, spending more than £500,000 over the past eight months.

Emmerson Press, which last year had a turnover of £3.5m and is projecting a turnover of £4m this year, bought a number of items, including a reconditioned 2003 Heidelberg CD 74 15,000sph five-colour plus coater printing press from Albion.

This replaced a Heidelberg SM 74 from 1998. Emmerson also bought a new folding machine, and undertook a major refurbishment of its Farmer Ward Road headquarters.

The company also has an XL 75 five-colour plus coater, which also runs at 15,000sph and an SM 74 two-colour and coater which can do 10,000sph.

Sales director John Emmerson said the company, which employs 25 staff, would also be investing in CTP technology and was in negotiations with two suppliers of repro hardware and software.

"We have a programme of continual investment but decided about a year ago to purchase a new press – our second in the last two years," he said. "It is a major investment for a company of our size, but it means we can print more and faster, and also eliminate waste."

Emmerson said the automated colour management tools on the CD 74 would saved time, while the company's maximum hourly output of 40,000 sheets across its three presses would allow it to expand into new sectors.

"We have made the investment without any need of outside finance and are confident the machine will be kept 100% busy," he added.

He said the company had also created a new client area at its headquarters because customers wanted to see their work being produced.