The event, held at the press manufacturer's European showroom, was the first time the sheetfed B1 press has been shown in the UK since it was launched at this year's Drupa.

One machine has already been ordered by Nottingham-based Central Colour while another order from an unnamed company was also confirmed.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi welcomed Shoji Murota as UK managing director. The Japanese print guru has 30 years of experience and has worked previously in the US and Japan.

Murota told PrintWeek that he is looking forward to his new role. He said: "Mitsubishi has increased its market share in the UK so the business is doing well…

"I think the UK market is similar to the US and Japanese markets."

Phil Murphy, senior manager business development at Mitsubishi, said: "Not many companies can boast the experience that Mr Murota will bring.

"We are very, very happy with the reaction to the V3000. Many of our rival manufacturers admitted that it was one of the stars of Drupa.

"Central Colour are very happy with the machine and were one of the first firms to use our Diamond Colour Navigator controller."

The V3000 boasts fully automated plate changing and a maximum printing speed of 16,200sph. The Diamond V3000 is Mitsubishi's first new sheetfed press in seven years and replaces the Diamond 3000.

V3000 specifications:

Max sheet size: 750x1,050mm
Min sheet size: 540x360mm
Max speed: 16,000sph
Max number of units: 16
Price: Six-colour LX model with coater: £1.1m-£1.2m