Adare chief executive Robert Whiteside said: "Print management (PM) has many benefits but cost reduction is a key one. It used to be in the top three but now it is the top one.

"No one wants to compromise on the other things but everyone wants to focus on cost savings," he added.

Whiteside said Adare had won £45m in new business since last June, including last week's deal with finance provider Homeloan Management Limited.

HH group sales and marketing director Tony Massey said: "In the last few years, things were becoming balanced. Service, quality and innovation were as important as commercial considerations, but that's all changed."

Massey added that the focus on cost was pushing reviews through much quicker. "It's weeks instead of months.

"Before, customers were prepared to see improvement programmes put in place over the terms of the contract. Now they want to front load them," he said.

Massey added that organisations that traditionally bought direct were now looking at PM.

Whiteside agreed: "We've won a lot of public sector and retail contracts recently that clients would have previously done in-house but are now outsourcing.

"The ramp-up of contracts used to be three to six months, but now they want the cost benefits yesterday," said Whiteside.

Peter Frings, managing director of Brightsource, which this week posted a 37% rise in gross profits, said the days of easy cost reductions were gone.

"There needs to be an innovative way of doing things that take a step change out of price," said Frings.

AccessPlus operations director Mike Conveney said the recession was an opportunity for PM. "Demand for saving money is that much greater and that's what PM should be doing."