The £85m-turnover company made the increases effective from 17 December 2010, and said the move was "inevitable" following the increasing cost of raw materials and supply shortages.

API Foils EMEA and Holographics managing director Stephen Clarke added: "We are absorbing as much of the costs as possible to minimize the effect on our customers, unfortunately price increases are inevitable.

"We don't expect our customers to take the increases lightly, just as we are not accepting them lightly from our suppliers. We will be continuing to work closely with our long standing suppliers while using the company’s global reach to stabilize supply and ensure prices remain competitive."

Sean Moore, regional business manager at API Foils, said: "The price inflation on polyester has been horrific - in the last 12 months it has gone up in excess 90%.

"However, we think that things will improve in the medium term. We don't think that prices will continue like this for the long term."

API Group operates 15 facilities worldwide and employs approximately 800 staff.

The company was set to launch several packaging products in 2011, with the potential to open up growth opportunities for packaging printers in new sectors.

Moore added: "We are launching R&D products all the time now, including bio products and increasing our laminating offering even further."