The “no-brainer” investment, which saw the panels installed over four weeks in May 2023, has already saved Wallace Print around £1,200 per month, according to Gary Wallace, the firm’s managing director.

The panels, which cost £100,000, have so far averaged around 225-250 KWh each day.

“On current estimations, the ROI will be less than three years, which is amazing,” Wallace told Printweek.

Solar panel life expectancies have now exceeded 30 years, with the latest models now expected to last for more than 40.

Wallace added: “The best business decision I ever made was to buy my own unit, as no one is going to invest £100,000 in solar panels if they do not own their factory.”

The investment is part of Wallace Print’s wider strategy to manoeuvre ahead of competitors by chasing its sustainability goals.

The 34-staff business also  invested in a fleet of electric cars in 2015, and is currently in discussions to buy an electric forklift.

The company is likewise looking at LED-cure flatbed printers.

Marketing its sustainability credentials, Wallace said, is crucial to the strategy’s success, with the company in a “huge push” to advise clients of sustainable substrates for their jobs.

Wallace Print is on course to turn over more than £4m in 2023.