Speaking at ERA's annual conference in Berlin this week, Bormans said modern gravure offered greater flexibility than ever.  Citing examples of publishers switching from web to gravure, including Cond Nast with Glamour, he said: "Gravure not only meets the demands of publishers but can compete with modern web offset too."

The conference was ERA's busiest for five years, and was buzzing with talk of the current swathe of major developments: Polestar and Arvato's new gravure plants  in the UK; the Gruner+Jahr/Arvato/Axel Springer joint venture, which is likely to have a UK limited company as its holding entity; Media-Pressa's new publication gravure plant in Russia; and the new superwide 4.32m gravure presses at Maul-Belser.

Bormans quipped that gravure had "taken the lead with our own 'www' the world's widest web". Although he said that stagnation in the industry seemed to have passed, and there was "a certain feeling of optimism", Bormans also warned that the printing industry in general "had not overcome its structural crisis". "Overcapacity and price pressure" were "still affecting the business situation," he said. "We have seen some spectacular mergers. Now this German joint venture will further change the face of the industry and it's safe to predict this process will continue."

The UK has been well represented at the event. Polestar chief executive Barry Hibbert; Argos head of publications and media Dominic Pemberton together with print production manager Simon Elliott; and Lands' End director of e-commerce and creative services Kevin Cooper all took to the podium.

Story by Jo Francis in Berlin