The company monitored how much electricity it was using through an online metering service provided by EDF Energy – Energy View. The service allows a company to see half-hourly reports on the electricity it is using.

David Cockburn, financial controller for group operations at Archant, said: "We looked from 7am on a Saturday, when the presses stopped running, until 10pm on a Sunday, when they started up again, and mapped out how much we were spending.

"There are obviously some things that need to be left on but, while this time last year it cost £1,500 during those 39 hours, we have managed to bring this down to about £650."

Much of the energy saving has been done by identifying and switching off unnecessary equipment, putting others on timers and streamlining processes to make better use of energy.

The company has also instigated a weekly check for leaks of compressed air, used within the printing process, which it claimed is also saving the company hundreds of pounds.

Operations director Adam Woodruff said: "I don't think we expected the savings to be as much when we first started. But when you really look at what was happening at the weekend, with the air conditioning still running, machines left on that didn't need to be and even computers not shut down, it makes sense."

The £40m Thorpe Print Centre, which was opened in 1995, houses presses that produce a million newspapers each week.