The Portsmouth-based printer has also recently bought a Stitchmaster ST 450 saddle-stitcher, taking its total investments with Heidelberg this year to almost £2m. The new press will be installed at the end of July and be operational for the second week of August.

It is the firm’s first press to include Inpress Control automated colour and register control, which will reduce the firm’s waste and improve its accuracy and quality and the speed of its makeready while safeguarding the resale value of the press.

Managing director Gareth Roberts said: “If this part of the investment proves successful, it will form part of the standard specification of future upgrades and replacements. We tend to replace a press at least every year and therefore Inpress would roll out throughout the business over the next five years.”

Bishops sees Inpress Control as a stepping-stone to ISO 12647-2 colour certification. The firm has chosen its colour champions to train its staff to deliver the quality and performance gain that Inpress Control offers.

“[Using Inpress Control] requires a change in mindset in prepress - in terms of the planning of the job on the sheet and the positioning of colour bars - as well as on press," said Roberts.

"It’s not a huge issue, but is one which requires a change to our working practices compared to current process."

Roberts said that the investment in the new XL press with Inpress Control was not an attempt to "attract a different type of business or break out of our established patterns".

“Our average order value over the last 12 months is £940. The new press will be expected to produce work we already feel we can attract to a similar average," he added. “The SX six colour was also new to us this year and in March we installed a new replacement stitching line, an ST450 from Heidelberg, at a cost of £330,000.”

The firm handles over 20,000 jobs a year for around 2,500 customers. It has a turnover of £19.6m and hopes that its continuing investments will put it in a position to achieve £22m.