According to figures from the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association (UKGCVA), like-for-like percentage growth of voucher sales in Q2 was at least twice that achieved at the height of the market in 2009.

Consumer voucher sales rose 24% versus the same quarter last year, to £172m, while sales in the B2B sector leapt 20% to £216m, making the annual growth in Q2 "the strongest ever recorded".

Andrew Law, commercial manager security print at Bath-based Integrity Print, said: "We have seen a steady increase in the amount of work we do in the paper voucher sector and in the last quarter we have seen sales increase by 10% on the same period last year."

Law cited Integrity's pioneering of short-run, full-colour vouchers as one of the main reasons for this growth, because it has opened the market to smaller end users for whom the cost of traditional security printed vouchers would have been prohibitive.

"We have laid down base stock of watermark paper, incorporating a number of printed security features," he said.

"Customers can then supply full-colour artwork to pre-agreed templates which can then be laser printed. This has enabled the cost-effective production of as few as 200 vouchers."

Law added that Integrity had also picked up work as a result of the administration of BemroseBooth, which left many retailers needing to ensure continuity of supply.

"We were able at short notice to gear up to accept and process a backlog of orders and this has delivered a substantive boost to our sales in this sector.