The five-year deal, imaging an average of 66,000sqm per annum, makes Hobbs the largest UK customer of Agfa's Azura TS plate and is set to reduce the 125-year-old printer's water consumption by more than 5m litres over the contract term.

According to Hobbs, the switch to Agfa's chemistry-free plate was inspired by an increasing need to reduce the company's environmental impact.

Graham Bromley, deputy managing and operations director at the privately-owned firm, said: "We wanted a plate that was press ready, with a clearly defined image that did not require further treatment on press, and Agfa ticked all the boxes."

Hampshire-based Hobbs the Printers specialises in scientific, technical, financial and academic printing. It employs 180 staff and had a 2008 turnover of around £10m.

The Azura TS plate is a thermal, chemistry-free plate that uses Agfa's Thermofuse technology. It offers a run length of around 100,000 copies and has a sensitivity of 200mJ/cm2.