The council claimed it could save more than £200,000 by closing 16-staff Devon Design & Print and sourcing work on the commercial market.

According to a council spokesperson, a range of work had historically been procured from external printers on an ad hoc basis and will now be sourced through a "slicker" arrangement from a tender framework of preferred print suppliers to be set up early next year.

Eleven print workers, who have undergone a 30-day consultation period, are expected to be made redundant when the site closes mid-summer unless alternative positions can be found within the council.

Five design and pre-press staff have already been transferred to the marketing department.

Councillor Des Hannon, executive member for personnel and performance, said: "The decision to close the county council's internal print operation has been made following a thorough review, which found it would be far more cost-effective to commission print work directly from the private sector.

"Print is a commodity for us and not a core activity and substantial investment in both new equipment and staff development would be needed if the unit was to remain competitive," he added.

One council employee told PrintWeek: "There's not too much support to keep the place going."

The litho and digital operation runs a four-colour Heidelberg GTO and a one-colour MO, two B&W Canon printers and a Xerox colour press along with finishing equipment.

Hannon added: "The county council spends £1m a year on print through the print unit and it is estimated that a revised model of print procurement will reduce costs by 20% and deliver savings of more than £210,000."

He said that the money would be better spent on frontline priority services.

"We hope that new competitive arrangements for print purchasing will be in place by next summer at which point the internal print service will close," added Hannon.

"All posts affected will be top priorities for redeployment to other jobs within the county council."