More than 60 guests attended the event where Sharon Massey, the mayor of Bexley, officially commissioned Marstan’s £1.4m Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75 10-colour perfecting press, which was installed three weeks ago and is the Bexleyheath-based firm’s largest ever investment.

The 18,000sph straight or 15,000sph 5/5 perfecting B2 press replaced two older 11,000sph SM 74 B2 perfectors, a 5/5 10-colour and a 3/2 five-colour.

Marstan Press managing director Martin Lett said: “It’s a lot quicker and will produce better quality products. It can make ready in 10 minutes, whereas it used to take us 45 minutes before, so it’s much more efficient.”

Features including automatic wash-up and semi-automatic plate changing contribute to the significantly reduced makeready times.

The firm has supplemented the new press with investment in its finishing department, including a secondhand Muller Martini Bravo Amrys Plus binder, which replaces an older Muller machine.

Director of Marstan Press Martin Lett Jnr said: “The faster running speeds and shorter makereadies of the XL 75 will allow us to target a lot more customers. There will also be a huge reduction in makeready waste. We will use the Muller stitching line for multi-section booklet work.”

The company started in letterpress before moving to litho and then adding digital printing. It now has 50 employees and serves clients across the country with most based in London, Kent and the South East.