The news comes as Scotland’s private sector experienced a fall in growth in August, fuelled by a drop in new business and rising costs, according to Banks of Scotland’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which showed the country’s rate of growth at its lowest for 20 months.

The PMI fell for the second-month running, from 51 in July to 50.3 in August (where above 50 indicates growth, and below 50 represents decline). The UK as a whole recorded a 52.6 figure in August, up from 49.4 in July.

But Stuart Mason, The Ink Shop’s managing director, said he felt in general Scotland’s print sector is faring better than the UK’s.

"We had some high profile failures in 2010/2011 but feedback from many of the suppliers would indicate a buoyant end to the summer," he said.

He acknowledged that business is "still challenging in the current conditions" and said he does not see a "likelihood of any change to that in the short term – and certainly not in 2013".

But sales over the summer saw a slight increase. "This was due primarily to aggressive marketing beforehand," he said. "We hear from customers the same stories – business is tough, competition is fierce and margins are down.

"In my opinion the decline is not simply lower sales or lack of sales. Many businesses, ourselves included, are actually producing more work for more clients. The problems we have are that competition has forced margins to levels so low that we now need two jobs for every one pre-recession."

His forecast for 2012/2013 is "moderate growth". He added: "We have changed our entire business model to avoid reliance on any one principal client or indeed any one principal business sector. We now have a much leaner and meaner business which is more adaptable to rapid changes within the marketplace.   We no longer just print, we’re a total visual communication provider."

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