The Japanese manufacturer, which has a European plate manufacturing facility at Tilburg in the Netherlands, said that as well as seeing the cost of aluminium rise to unprecedented levels over the past few months, energy has become a global issue with energy costs trebling in some parts of Fujifilm's operations.

Additionally, there has been a 250% increase in logistics costs, as well as a continued rise in the cost of chemicals and packaging materials.

Fujifilm said it has “been working tirelessly to manage and absorb these costs”, changing its working methods and improving its operational efficiency, to reduce the impact of these rising costs on its customers.

However, the magnitude of the rising costs means that despite its recent actions, the business is unable to cover the increase in total costs. It said the new surcharge, which will be effective from 1 January 2022, will enable it to maintain a continuous supply, and that this will be applied in addition to its previously announced surcharge.

At the same time, the Fujifilm UK Graphics operation will introduce a £25 order charge to mitigate additional local logistics costs.

Fujifilm Graphic Systems EMEA senior vice-president Taku Ueno said: “Globally, we are all experiencing unprecedented rises in costs, particularly for logistics, energy and raw materials, and have absorbed a lot of these costs, but are unable to absorb them all.

“We understand that these conditions are hugely difficult for our customers, so we will continue to work with and support them through this challenging period.”

In October Fujifilm said that printers looking for “certainty in plate pricing over the long term” should consider its Platesense programme. The programme pre-dates the current crisis affecting supply chains, and was launched in 2018.