The press, a brand new addition to the Castlebar, County Mayo-based firm, will be installed in the first week of December. It is part of a wider €1m (£785,300) investment programme that also includes two new folders, which will be installed in November.

The company also operates three other Heidelberg Speedmaster presses, a five-colour XL 75 with coater, a two-colour SM 102 and a two-colour SM 74, as well as two Heidelberg GTOs and two Xerox digital machines.

“We had to increase our printing capacity to meet the rise in demand from our customers. Although we did review our options, we are comfortable with Heidelberg,” said managing director Damien Cashin.

“The SM 102 we have already does exactly what is required of it and the Speedmaster SX 102 is exactly right for our requirements.

“We’re going to get a huge amount of efficiency out of it. It’s faster than the existing machines that we have and we anticipate that the new technology will give us a higher output per hour on average.”

The press will operate a double-day shift, 16 hours a day. The SX technology features the Prinect Press Center control station with the process-oriented Intellistart operator guidance system, which automatically determines and implements the optimum process sequence for job changes.

“Our operators are pleased to have a fourth Heidelberg press coming in and our customers will benefit significantly. We will be able to offer them even shorter lead times and take on additional work for them,” said Cashin.

The firm, which has around 60 staff and a turnover of just under €7m, has been continually expanding and has recruited a new operations manager, quality manager and financial accountant this year.

It primarily serves customers in the pharmaceutical industry and also offers a range of general printing services including business cards, banners, books, magazines, stationery and direct mail.