The investment was made to relieve the pressure created by the installation of a five-colour B1 Heidelberg SpeedMaster 102.

According to the Suffolk company's managing director Terence Dalton, the flexibility of the machine has allowed it to handle smaller work, leaving its larger folding systems to handle large work.

He said: "Although we have B1 presses, as much as a third of work is smaller and can be folded on the B2 system. We can leave our B1 folders on stand-by to complete the 16-page and 32-page jobs so time doesn’t have to be spent on their makereadies.

"Where before four, six and eight-page publications could be uneconomic to fold on the larger machines, the Horizon is perfectly suited to completing these jobs. It is ideal for runs of 100 or 200 as well as all the other work as it is quick and easy to set-up. It has made us much more efficient, and as efficiency and profitability go hand in hand, it will have a key impact on our overall performance."

The Lavenham Press has developed a specialism in the production of magazines and periodicals and expects to report a £4m turnover this year. Lavenham Press has 55 employees.