The new press, from Printers Superstore, replaced two older Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52 presses.

The Crewe-based design and print firm produces direct mail, brochures and stationery and also offers a range of web services, photography and sign and display print. It bought the £230,000 GH525 in January.

“We got rid of the old kit because it was becoming a bit of a burden. We got a fantastic package from Printers Superstore that was far superior to anything anybody else was offering. They’ve given us a full three-year warranty on the machine,” said Design Office managing director Kevin Edge.

The company, which was founded 18 years ago, has recently recruited new staff and now has 12 employees and a turnover of £750,000. Its in-house capabilities also include digital and large-format kit.

Although the intention of the purchase was to reduce monthly outgoings caused by the old presses, Edge said new business could be gained from the investment.

“The old kit was costing us money to run and we were having regular call-outs to get engineers to fix things. The new machine also needs a lot less power to drive it and we’re saving about £200 per month on our electricity bill since we installed it,” said Edge.

“The new press will also give us more capacity and we could take on more work if we wanted to. We’re looking to employ another printer and if we get another person we could run it for slightly longer hours,” he added.