"We are rising to the challenge of reducing our lead times in order to keep up with the increasing demand for faster turnarounds,” said managing director Alec Samuels.

The 30-plates-per-hour device, supplied by reseller Mayday Graphics, is claimed to be the “fastest thermal B2 platesetter in the world”.

“As we only have the space for one platesetter, we chose the most obvious model,” said Samuels.

The firm configured the platesetter to match the automation of the five-year old PlateRite 4000 it replaced.

“However, we have also installed a single automatic plate loader – the SAL6600 – which allows us to leave the machine running unmanned,” added Samuels.

At the same time as the platesetter was installed, the Romford-based firm also upgraded its workflow to Trueflow 3.4.

The £4m-turnover commercial outfit’s latest buy will produce around 1,000 B2 and B3 Fuji plates for the firm's five Komori presses, which turn out work for a client roster of 40 publishers.