The research, which marks the fourth time that franchise Printing.com has conducted a biennial nationwide price-comparison survey, revealed that the impact of higher commodity prices, the poor performance of the pound against the euro and the economic slowdown have led to over 50% of comparative prices increasing.
A North-South price divide was also unveiled with 50% of prices quoted from London and the South East falling into the high price band while two-thirds of quotations in Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland fell into the low price band.
The survey also revealed a huge variation in prices and timings offered by printers: the turnaround on printing 500 full-colour business cards ranged from three days to a fortnight, while pricing ranged from £48 to an astronomical £395 quoted by one Belfast printer.
Printing.com's chief executive Tony Rafferty said: "In every instance, judging the Printing.com retail price against these bona fide quotes… [we] fell into the low price band."
Printing.com survey reveals print prices rise with inflation
Inflationary pressure has pushed up prices in the quick-print sector for the first time in 10 years, according to independent research conducted by Storecheckers and commissioned by Printing.com.
