The firm aims to shift its operation in West Norwood to its 5,000sqm HQ in Woolwich, also in south London. It is toying with what to do with the freehold property it's quitting, but with turnover rising 2m yearly, SMP expects no job losses."

"We aim to move during 2006 and the main reason is to give us more flexibility and capacity," said managing director Bradley Slade. "Working off two sites isn't always the most advantageous or economic way of working."

The 1.5m five-colour Rapida 162a with a CX board package is due at Woolwich in October and will handle point-of-sale jobs and poster overflow work for firms such as Tesco, Argos and WH Smith.

"We went for Rapida because of the reliability and quality of our existing KBA presses," said Slade, who may look at buying a Rapida 205 in a year or 18 months tying in with the relocation.

"We are watching the market with anticipation to see how the 205 performs at competitors like Augustus Martin and Odessa. But it's a very hungry machine and the extra capital outlay doesn't stack up right now.

"A 205 with ancillary equipment like CTP will cost around 3m and I could buy two 162s for that. It's a big decision to take and maybe when we look at the market next year we'll think again."

Story by Jez Abbott