One third of printers who responded to the BPIF survey increased their output in Q1, marginally more than had been expected to. Two fifths managed to keep output at a steady level while 26% reported a decline.

The Q1 performance for output extends the positive growth run to two years. 34% of respondents expect to increase their output levels in Q2 while 41% predict stable output and 26% are expecting their output to decline.

The report suggests that some printers will have benefitted from work generated by the general election in Q1, although the uncertainty surrounding the outcome was voiced as a concern.

The Conservatives winning an outright majority earlier this month is thought to be good news for business confidence for the remainder of Q2.

“The speed at which it was all resolved was positive for business – there haven’t been weeks of uncertainty about who was going to take control, and we didn’t have to go through various coalitions and other aspects,” said BPIF research manager Kyle Jardine.

Other concerns voiced by printers about Q1 regarded paper supply following the administration of most of Paperlinx UK as well as worries related to major retailers exerting excessive pressure on their supply chain, particularly with regard to extended payment terms of up to 120 days.

But confidence in the general state of trade in the industry improved in Q1 and performance during the period was at least as good as expected for the majority of printers.

45% of respondents believe the general state of trade in the industry improved in Q1 while only 8% reported deterioration and 47% reported no change.

“The general feeling is that there is work there; companies are pretty busy and there are orders coming in and the volume is holding up,” said Jardine.

“There was a slight recovery in margins, which is something that hasn’t happened in a while. Companies have taken the time to look at how they’re running their own operations to increase efficiency and they will need to keep doing that.”

The forecast for Q2 is less upbeat, although it remains positive. 69% of respondents believe that the general state of trade in the industry will remain unchanged while 24% believe it will improve rather than worsen.

The BPIF Printing Outlook survey polled 89 companies representing 3,878 staff and over £420m in turnover.