According to WCPC director Tim Claypole, the group aims to drag print out of the dark ages.

He said: "If you look at the way print has developed in the past, it tends to be via trial and error. We want to underpin the science behind improvements."

At the conference, which takes place at Swansea University on 27 March, five new papers will be revealed.

Areas to be discussed include the effect of plate characteristics on ink transfer in flexographic printing, carbon nanostructures in printed electronics and ink misting in high-speed offset printing.

Claypole said that a number of the research papers were in the early stages of work, but the event was aimed at any printer in the industry looking to push its processes forward.

The meeting is free of charge to APG members, but £350 to non-members.