Dowd racked up a winning time of 4 minutes 45 seconds, just three seconds faster than the second-placed contestant.

The competition drew 27 entrants, including a number of students from the Menoizabala school in Spain, all vying to be the fastest against the clock to make ready a five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52.

From a standing start each entrant had to load the pre-profiled press with 250 sheets, load the plates, and complete the job to the colour registration standard required by the judging panel.

“Slow is fast, I noticed that too many people were trying to tinker around with the settings before they started, it was just a case of being methodical,” said Dowd on his winning strategy.
The Make Ready Challenge was sponsored by Burnetts, with the £1,000 first prize provided by Printers Superstore.

“It’s been a fantastic feature at the event,” said Burnetts director of print services Rod Wickens.

“It injected some fun into the event just as we had hoped it would, and it was a great way to finish off the show.”

According to Wickens, there were no injuries other than a few paper cuts and some bruised egos.