The press will output a range of calendars for the festive season covering themes such as art, wildlife and glamour.

Ralph White-Robinson, Rose works director, said: "We like to invest anyway but our previous machine had reached the end of its working life so it was time to replace it."

The new arrival comes just two years after the installation of an SM 52 and will run on a day-shift basis, primarily printing spot-colour commercial calendars at the company, which is celebrating its centenary year.

White-Robinson said that although the machine had only recently been installed, "the quicker turnaround of the new machine had led to a 10% increase in productivity".

The SM 74-2, which replaced a 15-year-old Manroland R200, has been installed at the company's Colchester site. The printer employs 50 staff between its two sites – Colchester and Tenby, Wales.