"There had been talk of running the plant on limited capacity until the end of March," said managing director Alan Fraser.

"But it's become apparent that there's no point carrying on. All of Purnell's work can be absorbed by the rest of the organisation."

Purnell's Emap contracts will move to Polestar Greaves while its Express Newpapers and Trinity Mirror contracts will be moving to Varnicoat. After December its IPC and Guardian Media Group contracts will be moving to Sheffield, with some commercial work going to Spain.

One of Purnell's presses, a Cerutti 2.45m-wide, will be moved to Polestar Sheffield at the end of the month, but the remaining four, a Cerutti 2.4m and three Cerutti 2.2m presses, will be left at the site for sale or possibly scrap.

Polestar is currently trying to market the site for industrial development.

Fraser confirmed it had been showing various companies around but said: "It's far too early to say what exactly will happen."

"It's sad that it's all reaching its climax," said Fraser. "But with the continued conditions of low pricing, high costs and increased utility bills, it's just been impossible to carry on."

Polestar is exploring alternative employment for the 275 remaining Purnell staff.

Purnell: end of the line
- March 2004: Union talks to stem 6m a year losses
- April 2004: Staff approve new terms with 100 job cuts
- March 2005: Polestar Sheffield comes online
- June 2005: Plans revealed to close Purnell in March 2006
- September 2005: Cerutti press moved to Sheffield
- December 2005: Purnell scheduled to close

Story by James Donkin