Winchester-based Colourworld has become early an adopter of the printing giant's Speedmaster XL 75, by ordering a five-colour B2 press.

The new model will be used to produce magazines, brochures and promotional material. It will give the company 50% greater productivity over the 12-year-old SM 74 it replaces.

Chris Tyler-Smith, managing director of Colourworld, said: "This is our first Drupa and it's jaw dropping to hear and see so many machines in one place. It's a real buzz. We are delighted to see the XL 75 in action.

"The press will generate profit for us because it will reduce our spend on overtime and will print on a larger sheet size."

The press will be delivered in the second week of June.

Elsewhere, Stephens and George Group has installed an XL 105 long perfector. It is 100% more efficient than its nine-year-old SM 102-8P and is already running.

The press achieved 3.6m sheets in the first month of installation before Heidelberg's Inpress Control technology was added.

Group director Andrew Jones said: "I'm here at Drupa at the moment knowing we have already made a momentous investment. Our biggest challenge is cultural not technological. With this, press operators have to set it up and then it runs itself."