"We’ve made the investment because run lengths and speed of turnaround dictated that we had to have a mid-sized offset press," said Alan Shannon, who runs the Cornwall company with his wife Caroline and son Sam.

Sales director Sam Shannon said: "We wanted to be a bit more competitive in short-run work such as jackets, and will use an existing B1 Roland 700 perfector for longer-run stuff. So we decided to go with the smaller-format Komori."

The 37-staff company spent £2m on the 16,000soh machine, which is being installed this week, as well as changes to the facility in Saltash to house the kit.

"We are impressed with Komori and feel as a medium-sized printer, the company is very supportive," said Sam Shannon, whose print team makes £3m turnover from clients including Government groups and universities.

Typical jobs include leaflets and council-tax booklets, and he said Deltor Communications was keen to strengthen what it did. New kit purchases aimed to make the business run "quicker rather than bigger", he added.

The Lithrone will run alcohol free, which ties in with the company’s environmental drive.

Shannon said Deltor Communications was to reduce carbon emissions by installing a 20kW solar-panel electricity system on the roof of the depot. This will reduce electricity bills by 40% even with the new Komori running, he said.