The 15,000sph press, which will be installed in November, is the first new offset press Mannin has bought since 1979 and will replace a secondhand Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 five-colour plus coater that was installed in 2008.
Mannin chief executive Steve Brown said: "Since the MBO we've replaced every piece of kit in the factory; we used to have two Solna presses which we replaced with the [secondhand] SM 74 in 2008 plus we got rid of our old CTP and folder and installed a new Suprasetter and Stahlfolder, which we've got two of now.
"When we put the first Heidelberg in it ate up the work we were doing on the Solnas and gave us extra capacity besides, but the plan was always to replace the SM 74 after five to six years - we bought it off BBR Graphics who I rate very highly and they're the ones taking it back again.
"This is the first time since 1979 that we've bought a new press, which is something I'm really proud of."
Brown added that he hadn't looked beyond Heidelberg for Mannin's new litho press. "I've worked all my life in print and so did my dad. I was raised to believe the Heidelberg product was as good as it got - and it is," he said.
"They have never seen our island location as a barrier and their staff always go that extra step to ensure we are well serviced here."
Brown cited the firm's installation of Prepress Manager and Pressroom Manager last November, which was done with the subsequent press upgrade in mind, as an example of this above-and-beyond service.
"Because our SM 74 was about 12 years old they had to replace a load of the circuitboards, which they didn't charge a penny for - that kind of thing gives you a good feeling about a supplier," he said.
"The savings we got on makeready from that alone were incredible - from 30 minutes down to 15 minutes and now with the SX that should come down to about five minutes, which will be great with the short-run work we do - it will be job-on, job-off."
Mannin, which also publishes three local titles - Manx Tales, Manx Life and Money Media, has diversified into digital in recent years, adding a Linoprint C 901 and Duplo booklet maker in 2013 following the launch of a sign and banner division in 2010, which runs a Roland Soljet Pro3 XE-540, which Brown said he was looking to upgrade in the near future.
