The investment included a 3.2m roll-to-roll Agfa Anapurna M3200i, a 2.5m flatbed and roll-to-roll Durst P10 250 HS, a Mimaki JV300-160 1.6m-wide solvent press and two Canon iPF printers.

Derek Gillen, managing director of the Dublin-based printer, said: "The equipment at Fespa 2014 was very impressive, we visited many suppliers with the intention to buy. On return to the factory we made our decisions based on various criteria; the machines chosen were installed between mid-September and mid-October."

He added: "We've always had in our head to keep up to speed with whatever machines are out there so we regularly invest in new equipment – we ditched the last of our screen equipment about three years ago now.

"In early 2014 we felt under pressure to keep up with the demand for our service with more work coming in and shorter deadlines, which is what led to the big investment last year."

The two biggest machines, the Agfa Anapurna and the Durst P10, were installed in Horizon’s main site in Navan Road, while the Mimaki and the two Canons (an iPF 8000 and an iPF 9000) were installed in the nearby Ballycoolin factory.

Gillen said: "We have a second site in Ballycoolin that primarily does reel and banner printing and finishing. We moved our HP Turbo Jet to Ballycoolin from our main Navan Road site, which freed up quite a bit of space, and then we moved a Jeti 3020 Titan further down in the factory so the M-Press and the P10 can go side by side.

"All the kit is relatively easy to move nowadays – the Titan took around three hours and the Turbo Jet was over a weekend. It's good to have the second site from a disaster recovery point of view, plus it's only about 15 minutes down the road. Here at the main office [Navan Road] we have all the sheet format, although the HS has a roll option, plus small-format work and our main studio."

Horizon employs around 80 staff across the two sites and achieved a turnover of approximately €9.5m last year. Gillen said that the firm probably wouldn't invest in any new plant in 2015 but that it may invest in technology (such as software).