In an email seen by PrintWeek, Chromoworks business development manager Joel Brooks said: "If you have any up-and-coming jobs that fit our 32pp presses between 16 Feb and 12 March, I have been told to beat the price by 5%.

"To ensure this, all I will need from you is a genuine copy of the other quote letter and a green light to secure paper."

A spokesman for Polestar said that some work had dropped out of the company’s schedule and the 5% price offer was an attempt to fill this capacity at short notice.

However, one industry insider criticised the move and questioned its impact on the industry.

He said: "There is a lot of bad feeling within the web houses, and if a company is making these price offers, you do question how it is allowed. What does it do to the rest of the industry?"

Unite national officer Steve Sibbald said that Chromoworks was in an unfortunate position as its core short-run magazine market was shrinking, while other companies had long-term contracts.

He said: "Polestar is obviously looking for volume if it is offering prices at 5% below."

A web printer said: "It goes on; I would say it’s not too unusual but as in this case you run the risk of looking like a complete plonker if your email gets forwarded to someone it isn’t intended for.

"Anyway, what buyer in their right mind is going to hand over a quote like that; all they would say is, do it for that price or not it’s up to you."

According to Brooks’ email, the most economical formats that would meet the criteria of Chromoworks’ offer are 24pp and 32pp A5 sections, and 12pp, 16pp, 24pp and 32pp A4 sections.

In September last year, Polestar mothballed one of the Komori presses at its Chromoworks site, as it reduced the number of active presses at the facility from four to three. The company said that the move would put 16 jobs at risk.