The Ipswich-based firm bought 20,000m2 of tropical rainforest at a cost of £3,000 to offset the 258 tonnes of carbon that were identified in its manufacturing processes over the year to June 2012.

Managing director, Phillip Dodd, said: "Carbon balancing is often seen as a gimmick, and although we do think that it is a marketable position, it also has a positive effect. Over six tonnes of carbon have been saved on some print jobs."

Dodd said that the company would continue to pay to offset its carbon on an annual basis – without passing that cost on to the customer – as it "well worth the investment".

"If something works for us as a marketing tool and is also beneficial to the environment then I can't see any problem in using it to promote our business," he added.

According to Dodd, all of Healeys' house gloss, silk and matt papers and some of its coated sheets are carbon balanced at source.

He added: "Within the next few days, every estimate that goes out will show the amount of CO2 that is being saved by placing that job with us on our house stock."

In addition, the firm's clients will be able to use the Carbon Balanced Publication logo on their products, and will be issued with a statement showing the area of land purchased and the weight of the CO2 offset.

"Some of our customers are also interested in receiving an annual statement from us showing how much carbon they have saved on their printing, which they can then include in their CSR report," added Dodd.

Meanwhile, Healeys will take delivery of its new carbon-neutral press, a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75-5+L ordered at Drupa, in January 2013.

Achieving EU Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) accreditation is the company’s next goal, which Dodd said was the "gold standard of environmental accreditations".

"There's only about 200 print companies in the world that have it," he added.