The Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire-based outfit installed the machine in the middle of January, spending a “considerable sum”, according to managing director Scott Brookes. 

The machine replaces an eight-year-old HP Indigo 5000, which Brookes said had “done us well”.

“The successful companies are the ones that keep investing and the old machine was getting a bit unreliable so it was time for a change,” he said.

“We looked around the market but have customers that are still willing to pay for the Indigo quality so we decided to go with HP again, even though it was a bit more expensive than the competition.

“It was brought in because we offer a service, quick turnaround for a wide range of products, and we need a reliable machine. I can’t have someone giving me a job today that has to be in London the next getting a breakdown that then has to be sorted out, so generally it was to create the reliability and maintain print quality.”

Launched at last year’s Drupa, the Indigo 5900 prints at 90ppm, producing more than 200 million colour pages per month. It prints at 2,438dpi and takes media weighing between 60gsm and 350gsm.

Pelican Print has also installed the Indigo with HP’s Enhanced Productivity Mode (EPM) software, which speeds printing up by 25% by eliminating black ink from the production process. Brookes said he can use the function on a high percentage of work with no noticeable compromise on image quality.

The Indigo purchase is £2.5m-turnover Pelican’s third major investment in the past year, after it installed a Muller Martini Presto II Digital saddle-stitcher and an upgraded Agfa CTP system last February.

The 22-staff business produces a variety of commercial work, including business cards, flyers and brochures.

In its 330sqm digital division it runs the Indigo, a Xerox J75 Colour Press and a Fujifilm Acuity flatbed.

It also has a 500sqm separate litho site, in which it runs a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 and finishing kit.