And not content with that first, the machine will be the first B2 press Heidelberg has supplied with its CutStar reel sheeter.

"They told me they'd never make a B2 CutStar and then the drawing of my press turned up with a CutStar on it," said Browns CTP managing director Andrew Brown (pictured right).

The press will be delivered in September to a new 2,600m2 factory the firm is building two miles from its present site. The CD 74 will replace a five-colour Speedmaster 74 with coater and will be joined by the firm's  CD 102-5L and SM 52-5L, at the new site.

Brown said that a B1 long perfector wouldn't "have been the right move".

"This allows us to have B1 productivity with B2 flexibility," he added.
The press will be highly automated with a technotrans ink.trac ink pumping system and Prinect Management Gate giving the potential to link to the firm's Tharstern MIS. Like the firm's existing presses, it will also use ImageControl closed-loop colour control.

Story by Barney Cox