The Pro C901, due to be installed next month, will replace the Bristol-based printer’s ageing Kodak NexPress and join the company’s duo of Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52 Anicolor litho presses.

Doveton director Mark Savage said: "The C901 is just much more suited to our needs and it’s actually cheaper than the NexPress so we’re making a saving there. The NexPress offers all sorts of fancy finishing, but that’s not what we need – we need a faster digital printer like the C901."

Meanwhile, Doveton has also chosen to become an early adopter of the newly developed Prinect Business Manager (which Heidelberg will launch at Drupa) to bridge both litho and digital workflows.

As part of a £200,000 kit spend, the 23-staff company has also recently invested in a Stahlfolder TH 66 buckle folder and Compucut pre-loading software from Polar. Savage anticipates that this overall investment will bring in more short-run and personalised work.

He said: "To compete profitably as a quality response printer means maximising efficiency; with this comprehensive investment, we are doing just that."