All 20 staff at the £1.5m-turnover company, which was founded in 1928, have been made redundant following its collapse.

Alastair Nayler, managing director of Lancashire-based Nayler Group and the fourth generation of the family to operate the business, said: "It has been a very difficult time for all involved; a very sad time."

The administrator for the company, Charles Macmillan, who is partner and head of corporate recovery at Manchester-based Beever and Struthers, blamed the failure of the company on the growth of digital printing revolution and a decline in demand for printed products.

He said: "It’s always a sad day when such a long-standing business – which was a very successful business for most of its 84 years – fails and people lose their jobs.

"Nayler Group was a victim of the digital revolution in printing eating away at traditional processes, and a general problem of oversupply in the industry. The printing industry has shrunk and margins have consequently been eroded because competition is fierce."

Macmillan added that if no buyer for the company is found, parts of the business may be sold at an auction in March.

"Some interest has been generated, but unfortunately there are relatively few players in the sector with resources to acquire the entire business, and the most likely outcome is therefore an auction of parts of the business," he said.