The recent four-colour install, specified with online envelope feeder and conveyor stacker, replaces an existing Ryobi litho press at the four-staff print facility.

The council's reprographics department handles all print requirements, including letters and brochures, as well as display graphic applications.

With the new press in tow, the in-plant has cut the time taken to produce a 12,000 run A5 brochure job from five days to less than two.

The digital offset press also allows the department to respond to a demand for changing short-run jobs.

Graeme Jesty, reprographics team leader at Gosport Borough Council, said: "The time when we printed 25,000 copies of a document, which sat on a shelf until they went out of date, has long gone. 

"Departments are constantly updating their printed material, which means more frequent reprints of, say, 2,000 copies."

Using the press's on-line envelope feeder and conveyor stacker, the council has also been able to overprint in-house, which has helped eliminate the franking process.

In doing so, postage adheres to criteria within Royal Mail’s Clean Mail service, which has given the council a 12% discount on postage costs.

The Reprographics department is running the new press alongside two Xerox machines and finishing equipment that includes folding and encapsulating.