A 13,000sph four-colour Printmaster 52 is due at the base in Colchester, Essex, in June. It will join a recently arrived two-colour Quickmaster 46 that prints 10,000 sheets an hour.

"Heidelberg has a good reputation and we have a single-colour GTO," said managing director Phil Norris. "We are doing a lot more short-run full-colour work and stationery for local and blue-chip firms."

He is replacing a Ryobi 522 press and the Printmaster will use EasyPlate plate-changing technology and automated ink and blanket roller wash ups.

The QM 46 will be a jobbing press for Print Matrix, which offers digital and litho work, a design studio and finishing unit.

Norris said the investment was a "stepping stone to growth" for the firm, which aims to move its base in the town to a 700sqm office three times bigger than its present site and double its workforce to 10.