The Printing Press is the trading name of Litho Printing Ltd, which changed its name from Paper Press Ltd on 27 June, and was previously called UK Print. Its registered address on Companies House is still 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ. UK Print was incorporated in November 2014 but only appeared to begin taking orders once Houseprint had been liquidated.

Companies House lists Stuart Ralph Poppleton, who holds multiple other directorships, while Clair Rosina Hunnisett is listed as a former director, terminating her appointment on 1 February 2017.

Hunnisett was the sole director of Ink Paper Ltd, the company identified at the beginning of this year as being a new incarnation of UK Print, which operated from the same address. Hunnisett resigned as director of Ink Paper on 7 June 2017 and Poppleton was then appointed director on the same day. 

Hunnisett was previously a director of Houseprint t/a The Printing House, along with Neill Malcolm Stuart John, the man identified as the print farmer that takes deposits for jobs and then, often quoting alleged production problems, fails to deliver full orders.

According to Companies House, John’s previous directorships include Ambeck Corporation, Masterclass Associates, and Dragon Press. Hunnisett was also a director of Ambeck Corporation. All three companies are either dissolved or in liquidation. 

Although listed as based in London, PrintWeek understands from a number of former clients of the various companies that John and Hunnisett actually operate from a base in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.

PrintWeek was contacted by a Printing Press client who said he had placed an order with the company and dealt with a man named Stuart John, who has previously and regularly been identified as the managing director of these various companies.  

The source said that while John initially gave him a “great offer” on a run of a few thousand books, the order was then consistently delayed and he became abrasive and difficult to get hold of. The client paid a fee upfront but has yet to receive the order, with the book's US launch next week at risk as a result.

A second client reported that he had outsourced an order to The Printing Press for more than 1,000 books and paid £550 upfront, with the order arriving more than one month late. He has reported The Printing Press to the Insolvency Service, who said John is under investigation but there is not much more they can do while The Printing Press is still solvent. 

A former Houseprint client said it was “unbelievable” that the business is still trading.

When contacted by PrintWeek, Printing Press customer services manager Andy Jones said: “We complete 90% of the jobs we are given. Our terms and conditions are there, we have a 20-week window to put it right, and in the event that somebody does decide to cancel, we have some protection against it. 

“If the artwork turns up late or wrong and someone has got themselves into a corner and it can’t be fulfilled, we would provide a credit note or refund. Over the last few weeks we’ve done some fantastic jobs. All of the customers we’ve dealt with who weren't happy are in the process of having a refund and it will all be done lawfully."

Since PrintWeek first brought Houseprint to the industry’s attention, it appears to have operated under at least four other trading names: UK Print, Ink Paper, Paper Press and now Litho Printing.