Owner Sharon Sewell said the eight-staff operation had generated more business by paying for premium positions on Google internet searches.

Varsity figures prominently when potential clients search for "Gold coast printing" and other related phrases.

Adwords customers pay only when their ad is clicked, not when it is displayed.

Sewell told ProPrint that Varsity had done a lot of experimenting to work out which phrases generated the most traffic.

[Related: Toowoomba printer hits $6.5m mark]

"It didn't work for us for about the first six months and it really needs monitoring," she said.

"We get a lot of queries through Google Adwords for a lot of bespoke and custom printing, and I think a lot of other printers put these kind of jobs into the too-hard basket.

"In the last year we got a job through Google Adwords for a big order of gold foil certificates with variable data."

Sewell said the firm had enjoyed 20% growth in the 2012 calendar year, and a 64% jump in its large-format work.

"I think our growth is word-of-mouth a lot, because we're doing a lot of backlits and posters for events on the Gold Coast," she said.

Varsity used a Canon iPF8000 to produce about 75 Mariah Carey posters just before Christmas "for one of the Gold Coast's big entertainment complexes", she said.

Varsity hired a third graphic designer in October to handle a growth in high-end design work. The firm also promoted Chanel Davis to manager in February. Her family owns E Davis & Sons in Portland, Victoria, a printer that was founded in 1890.

[Related: More Queensland news]

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