One of the pioneers of colour printing in newspapers, Precision Colour Media has gone into administration with cash-flow problems, following a succession of changes of ownership.

Michael Denny and Michael John Magnay from Alvarez & Marsal were appointed joint administrators on August 27, with a declaration that none of the 160 staff will be made redundant while sale options are explored. The business had been reported to be busy, with staff recently working 24/7 to meet demand.

The end for the Telford, UK business came swiftly in the final week of last month, with some publishers hurriedly moving their work, and others being told runs could not be completed because of shortage of paper. The company’s website still announces it as part of the Claverley Group, which it hasn’t been since May 2024, when it was sold to investment firm Hypax. The present owner is the third in two years.

Claverley – which still owns regional and local newspapers – had remained a customer, and is understood to have an interest in the sprawling 14-acre site. Equipment includes three web presses – a 32pp manroland Rotoman, 32-page and 16-page Komori System 38 webs, as well as a nine-unit Mitsubishi tandem perfector. An eight-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 with sheeter was relocated there in May.

Originally a sister company of Midland News Association, publisher of Wolverhampton’s Express & Star, PCP came into being to supply 1970s demand for colour advertising and editorial among publishers equipped only for letterpress. Reels of colour-printed paper would be delivered for overprinting on the rotary letterpress machines of the day, not necessarily in register, in what became known as “wallpaper”.