Polestar's development partner Gazeley has secured the site of the former Avesta steel rolling mills, off Sheepcote Lane in Tinsley.

A planning application has been submitted to Sheffield City Council for development of the site, in the heart of Sheffield's former industrial steelmaking heartland, with the M1 motorway close by.

Up to 1,000 jobs will eventually be created at the selected facility, with development of the printing works set to occur in two phases.

"We expect to make a decision in mid-to-late May, but either way we will have diggers in the ground by June or July," said project managing director Mike Young.

Polestar has also named Hell Gravure Systems and sister companies Kasper Walter and Bauer as the suppliers of 8m (E12m) of pre-press equipment.

The Sheffield site is vying with a separate Gazeley development in Belgium.

The Liverpool Echo reported last week that media group Bertelsmann, Arvato's parent company, was planning to develop a 50,0000m2 complex on a disused airfield at Speke in south Liverpool. According to Estates Gazette Bertelsmann was in advanced talks on the site with Peel Holdings, the owner.

Arvato recently affirmed its interest in setting up a gravure site, and has been considering a E100m-plus investment in the project. It was understood that the firm had been considering two sites, in Derby and Sheffield.

A spokesman for Arvato said that an announcement would be made "in the next few weeks".

Story by Andy Scott and Josh Brooks