Replacing two Heidelberg B2 Speedmaster SM 74s, the Rochester-based company is hoping to consolidate and enhance its B2 offering by broadening the range of substrates it can print on. It will run alongside two B1 Speedmaster CD 102s.

Delga said the machine will better enable it to take on shorter-run and variable data work and special editions, which it's clients are increasingly asking for.

“Our sister company CSP has two HP Indigo 7900s that we have occasionally made use of for jobs so this is not virgin territory for us,” said Delga managing director Ian Conetta.

He added that the company had looked at a number of machines, but "the trigger point for us was the HD quality, which will put us at the forefront ahead of our competitors because short-run work at that kind of quality is near-unheard of.

“It gives us a real USP and allows us to run board up to 505 microns thick through the press, opening up substrates such as silver board and mirror board which we could not previously do in-house.”

HP’s Indigo 12000 HD press can print up to 4,600 colour B2 sheets per hour and supports seven-colour printing and spot colours. It is intended to help companies print any commercial application, “from canvas wall art and high-impact posters, to folders and oversized books — on virtually any substrate”.

Conetta said Delga was a long-time leader on packaging provisions for the music and entertainment sector, but had its sights on diversification into new markets with the help of its new machine, as well as a full portfolio of finishing equipment including die-cutting and gluing lines.

He said: “We did not want to go out to new markets without knowing we could offer something different and this machine gives us something to shout from the rooftops.”

Delga Press employs 100 staff and its base covers just less than 4,100sqm.