But printing companies must still focus on training and management practices if the UK is to hold its current advantage over the Continent, said ViP chief executive Richard Gray.

The organisation's International Benchmarking Study, to be launched on 30 November, found that value added per pound of employment costs was higher in both books and magazines.

In magazines, the study showed that for every pound spent on employment, 1.96 was created in the UK compared to 1.54 on the Continent. For books, the figures were 1.71 in the UK, compared to 1.62 in Europe.

The figures compare well to a 30% productivity gap in favour of Continental printers when the DTI carried out a similar survey in 1997.

Gray said that the figures, which related to 29 UK companies, were "good news" but warned: "The advantage is in part due to lower social costs in the UK."

The study shows that OEE, or overall equipment effectiveness for web offset presses, is currently running at an average of 62% in the UK compared to 64% outside the UK. Gray said that an OEE of over 75% was achievable through improved management practices.

He added that companies should invest in "well targeted" training. "I would rather see a company doing two or three days of really useful training in a year than 10 days of training just for the sake of it," he said.

BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson said: "This report tells us not only where we are but where we could be if we performed excellently in all areas."