Eckenfelder, which is based in Wenigenlupnitz in Eastern Germany, chose the five-colour Roland 50 in part because of its board capabilities, which fits in with its business of printing calendars.

Joint managing directors Christof and Daniel Eckenfelder said they had chosen the Roland over better-known pico presses because they were familiar with the technological know-how of the manroland presses.

"We want our production output to excel in terms of quality and flexibility. This pays off for our customers and our own production process, and we’re confident of achieving this with the Roland 50," they said.

The Roland 50 has double-size impression cylinders and can process a range of substrates from 0.04-0.8mm. A3 printers can use the Roland 50 technology to upgrade production to a higher level in the 36/52 format.

Manroland hoped the machine would take centre stage at Drupa, reintroducing the company to the B3 arena after a break. It aims to compete with the likes of Ryobi and Heidelberg with the Roland 50.

The machine will be available for delivery from the autumn in two-, five- and six-colour configurations.