Speaking at a Pira conference earlier this month, RR Donnelley Global Document Solutions’ strategic sourcing director Alastair Watson said that the consolidation of print was "absolutely critical".

 He claimed that print would go the way of the retail sector, where supermarket chains have used economies of scale to price many traditional family businesses out of the market.

However, SME printers have rejected the theory posited by the UK’s ninth largest print business.

Westdale Press managing director Alan Padbury agreed that there was scope for superprinters to exist, particularly in today’s market. However, he does not believe it will be the "utopia that Mr Watson envisages".

"The very thing that supermarkets lack is exactly the thing that most people want in their print job, to be different," he said. "This isn’t on offer at a ‘super-anything-retail’ because they lack the character and passion that a proper retailer provides.

"The advice and expertise that exists in a range of specialists is greater than can be provided by one source, even if it’s not quite as convenient to winkle out."

Liam Smith, director at Aura Print, claimed that the supermarket analogy worked both ways, questioning how good the service at a superprinter would be.

He said: "Supermarkets are not successful because they give customers what they want; they are successful because they offer everything in one place and save time. They often don’t offer quality, customer service or expertise in any field.

"A superprinter, like a supermarket, offers cheap low-cost goods. If you wanted a tasty fresh chicken you wouldn’t go to Morrisons, you would go to a more specialised farm shop."

While it is possible to compare print to the retail sector, Technoprint managing director Mark Snee also believes other sectors are relevant to be looked at as a comparison.

He said: "Compare this with fragmentation in other markets – television and banking for example. More importantly, businesses are hugely dependent on government policy, taxation and consumer sentiment for their prospects.

"Supermarkets have grown through a dominant financial position that has squeezed suppliers and competitors alike and has been supported by the planning and tax system in the UK. Anyone who works on the principle of ‘too big to fail’ may ultimately get a nasty surprise."

And, for some printers the "big is better" model is incorrect even for commercial work, because it would force the industry to fight for work based on unsustainable pricing.

Ink Shop managing director Stuart Mason said: "I believe the future for our industry is smaller more adaptable businesses. Larger firms require such a high capacity that price is often used to fill that capacity.

"Yes, these businesses will be needed for magazine work, but the general commercial, jobbing, colour, digital print markets are better served by smaller, smarter, more adaptable businesses."