The two-colour machine, supplied by Apex Digital Graphics, was installed following a corporate tender process by the council and joins an existing Ryobi 3302 and Itek 975 offset press.

Mark Hambleton, print officer at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: "We looked carefully at the market place in choosing the machine, and are pleased with the choice we have made.

"We are looking forward to working with the company especially with the more complex jobs we are now being asked to produce."

The B3 format machine will print jobs imaged on the council's DPX computer-to-plate system. The press features semi-automatic plate changing and comes specified with a PCS off-press control unit.

Neil Handforth, sales and marketing director of Apex Digital Graphics, said the Ryobi's 522GE was "an ideal first machine for a start-up company or a great upgrade path for printers looking to move from portrait to landscape production".