The Bristol-based company also installed a B2, five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74-5 perfecting press with coater in August, and in 2011 moved into a new site three times the size of its previous base.

Whitehall decided to invest in the basic.r reverse osmosis system, the first water-treatment unit of its kind it has bought, because it is located in a variable hard water area.

Joint managing director Adam Bendon, one of six family members working at the firm, said it was targeting "absolute colour consistency" so it needed to "take as many variables out of production as we can".

"This system will pay for itself because it means we use less ink to get to good colour and we have fewer waste sheets," he added.

Whitehall, which was set up by Adam’s father Colin in 1977, employs 21 staff and offers litho and digital printing.

Bendon said turnover had increased by 50% since 2008, and the firm had focused on improving efficiency to counter higher costs and lower print prices.

The company is also going through the accreditation process for the ISO 14001 environmental management standard.

Technotrans launched the basic.r system in the UK at Northprint 2011, targeting it at users of single B2, B3 and digital presses.