XYZ Printing Company is a commercial printer of promotional advertising brochures and booklets. The job is typically characterised by production runs of more than 80,000 units. XYZ has not been able to compete effectively with larger printers because of its existing older inefficient presses. The general manager has proposed the purchase of one of two large presses designed for long, high-quality runs. The purchase of a new press would enable XYZ to reduce its cost of labour and therefore the price to the client, putting the firm into a more competitive position. The key financial characteristics of the old press and the two proposed presses are summarised as below: Old Press: Originally purchased 3 years ago at an installed cost of $400,000, it is being depreciated at 20% on a reducing balance basis. The old press has a remaining life of 5 years. It can be sold today to net $300,000 before taxes. Press A: This highly automated press can be purchased for $830,000 and will require $40,000 in installation costs. It will be depreciated at 30% on a reducing balance basis. At the end of 5 years, the machine can be sold for a net of $400,000 before taxes. If this machine is acquired, it is anticipated that the working capital requirement would be $130,000. Press B: This press is not as sophisticated as Press A. This is a semi-automatic press that costs $640,000 and requires $20,000 in installation costs. It will be depreciated at 30% on a reducing balance basis. At the end of 5 years, it can be sold for a net of $330,000 before taxes. Acquisition of this press will have no effect on the firms net working capital investment. XYZ Printing Company has already spent $12,000 for the feasibility study of the new project. The new machines are quite large. If the proposed project goes ahead, XYZ Company will have to use its existing excess warehouse facility to install the new machine. The excess existing warehouse facility has been currently rented to another company at an annual rent of $15,000. The firm has estimated the earnings before depreciation, interest, and taxes with the old press, press A, and press B for each of the next 5 years (shown in Table 1).

Table 1: Earnings before depreciation, interest and taxes

Year	Old Press	Press A	Press B
1	$120,000	$300,000	$210,000
2	$120,000	$300,000	$210,000
3	$120,000	$300,000	$210,000
4	$120,000	$300,000	$210,000
5	$120,000	$300,000	$210,000

Question : Consider all information given in the case study and the results derived in Questions 1 to 3. Advise the executive committee on whether they should invest in Press A or Press B. Discuss the reasons for your recommendation and the issues the XYZ Company needs to consider given this advice.