The firm is also installing a six-colour Speedmaster SM102-6PL with coater, a Polar guillotine 137ED, Heidelberg folder, Topsetter 102 thermal CTP system with Prinergy workflow, and a Hewlett-Packard 1050 proofer.

The 30-staff company is moving into a new 2,400m2 plant between Bradford and Leeds. The new presses replace a five-colour and an eight-colour Heidelberg.

Joint owner Ian Jenkinson said: "Realistically we are only investing in three more units." Close Asset Finance has financed the spend.

Bahsons lease at its current site in Leeds is up in January 2002, so Jenkinson decided to install the kit in the new factory, meaning the firm suffered no downtime.

The 10-colour five-back-five Speedmaster SM102-10P will begin production at the end of this month, while the six-colour went live this week.

Jenkinson said he opted to go with Heidelberg because "its better the devil you know - Ive worked with them since I started in printing 12 years ago".

He said Bahson would become "more aggressive" in touting for business and planned to grow its client base with the new kit.

The five-year-old firm plans to push into the prospectus market, where the 10-colour press will "give us a bit of an edge", according to Jenkinson.

Its current customers include marketing agency WWAV.

Story by Gordon Carson