The Milton Keynes-based outfit brought in the five-colour Speedmaster at the beginning of the year at a cost of £400,000. It will eventually replace two 10-year-old Speedmaster SM 72s, one of which has already been removed and the other is due to go in March. 

“We basically had two presses here that weren’t coping with the workload,” said Regal managing director Alan Corkhill. 

“We’ve had Heidelberg presses for a number of years; obviously reliable solid pieces of machinery, but we wanted something to complement the digital side of the business and enable us to go and print more magazine work.”

Regal Group has recently launched a new publishing arm, Guidelines Specialist Publications (GSP), which will manage two newly acquired magazines due to be printed by Regal Litho. 

Corkhill added: “The main improvements are speed and quality of reproduction, it’s sharper, a bit like going from a normal TV to an HD TV. Although we are a publisher we do quite a lot of commercial print and with technology going the way it is going our customers demand they receive the best for a competitive price; we have to move with the times.”

The 16,000sph machine, which can handle a broad range of textured stocks, will be used in a 24-hour shift pattern. 

24-staff Regal Litho mainly produces magazines, sports programmes and other commercial print, also running a 2014-purchased Xerox Color C75 digital press. Last year, it turned over £2m, which comprises around two-thirds of Regal Group’s overall sales. It also runs a variety of finishing equipment.

“We are very optimistic about the future. We are a complete in-house print and publishers, there is an opportunity with technology for small, niche magazines, and we have a mailing house on our doorstep who are very helpful,” added Corkhill.

Other than Regal Litho and GPS, 60-staff Regal Group, which operates from one 1,000sqm site, also owns Guideline Publications and Regal Sport Press.