The recently installed B1 press was chosen after the firm saw it at Ipex and then an open house earlier this year. It will replace a six-colour B1 and a five-colour B2 Heidelberg machine and sit alongside a Speedmaster CD 102 which has been refurbished with an updated coater.

The 62-staff company decided on the CX102 rather than an XL because it had the same plate size as the CD machine and opted for Prinect Image Control spectral measurement rather than Inpress Control as it could be used across both presses. Pressroom Manager software then uses the image information to link back to prepress to ensure a closed-loop colour control.

Image Control NG was first shown at Ipex last year and offers 50m LAB values per image as opposed to the 166,000 of its predecessor, as well as faster measurement processing.

The £2.6m investment programme also includes TH82 and TH66 Stahlfolders, as well as a Stitchmaster ST350 machine to replace three folders (one MBO and two Stahl machines) and a 10-year-old ST300 saddle-stitcher respectively.

The £6.6m-turnover company financed the expansion through Yorkshire Bank's Leicester Financial Solutions Centre. Managing director Alan Squire said that the company's aggressive payment policy had meant it had good relationship with its lender. "They were asking us when we we were going to invest in new equipment," he said.

"We hadn't gone out and bought new kit for a few years. All our kit was paid for and it was still working really well and we weren't having to make repayments.

"But we went to an open house at Tamworth in February and saw how they were producing there was just light years away.

"The recession has been tough for everyone. We reached a point where we had to invest and by taking an intelligent approach that focuses not on chasing turnover but on manufacturing more efficiently we have safeguarded our business in the downturn and positioned ourselves to handle increased volumes as the market improves."

Squire added that with so many finishing companies closing, bringing finishing in-house had become imperative.

"We have to be much more self-reliant," he said. "The coating combined with the improved polyurethane coated rollers on the latest Stahlfolders means we can now produce with no fear of marking. Customers have told us our finishing is a real differentiator so it has now become a sales tool, not just a manufacturing process."

The move means the company, which produces general commercial work, can now complete an entire print job at one site whereas previously finishing took place at a nearby second facility which is now being used for storage.

It has also enabled Streamline Press, which runs a three-shift day, five days a week, to reduce overheads by downsizing to four staff while increasing capacity.