The digital and litho operation acquired The Universities Press and Hodge Office Supplies, as well as spending £1.6m on a 10-colour B1 Heidelberg press.

G&H managing director Diarmuid McGarry said: "Both companies have a strong business pedigree and we see strong synergies between all three."

The firm, which is more than 100 years old, specialises in advertising and promotional literature, periodical magazine production as well as travel brochures and Christian literature.

The acquisitions, which boost total staff numbers to around 100, are also expected to catalyse further growth for the printer.

McGarry added that the firm is "actively seeking out opportunities for strategic alliances and acquisitions that will further consolidate our position in the market and enable us to develop our all-Ireland presence".

He said that The Universities Press was an attractive acquisition due to "its range of equipment and its strong client portfolio, as well as its brand and heritage" while Hodge Office Supplies "has been a pioneering business in its own sector for generations".

Hodge Office Supplies founder Stanley Hodge added: "We anticipate consolidating our current client base as well as growing the business with the support of G&H with whom we share a common cultural ethos."

G&H and The Universities Press have moved into a single site in Alanbrooke Road while the Hodge Office showroom has been relocated to new premises, part of which were formerly occupied by G&H.