Speaking at the All Party Parliamentary Print Group's reception for "Explore Exporting", GPMU deputy general secretary Tony Burke said the union intended to be at the forefront of linking with other graphical unions in Europe.

Burke said a number of UK companies in the magazine and catalogue sector had told the union they would like to acquire or build sites in a central European city, including one in St Petersburg.

One of the key issues facing the industry was the enlargement of the European Union (EU) and competition from Western Europe, and emerging countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Martin Raven, of government organisation UK Trade & Investment, explained how the organisation supports companies in the UK which are trading internationally, through its knowledge and on-going help.

BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson also hailed the growth of the UK print sector over some of its European rivals.

Although the UK had around the same number of print companies as Germany, it was performing much better, he said.

Nigel Griffiths, Minister at the Department of Trade and Industry and Labour MP for Edinburgh South, also praised exports by the printing sector, which totalled 425m last year.

He said its commitment to skills was also second to none, and Griffiths paid tribute to all the work being done by Vision in Print.

Guest speaker at the reception, staged at the House of Lords on 13 September, was Baroness Dean of Thornton-Le-Fylde.

Story by Andy Scott