The source said Croxson, which is still trading, "never fully recovered from a bad debt, which has had a knock-on effect" on the company.

The source also claimed the ailing digital and litho firm had lined up three possible buyers, with a decision expected by "the end of the week".

A Croxson employee told printweek.com that 30 of the company's 85 staff were told on Thursday (28 February) that "their jobs were to finish".

Tim Elliot, managing director of Croxson's paper supplier Elliot Baxter, told printweek.com that it "did not see it coming. We're still reeling from it to be honest."

He added that Elliot Baxter is owed "in the region of £30,000" and it is still waiting to see if it can recover any stock.

Two other paper suppliers confirmed they were also owed for stock. One of the suppliers, which asked not to be named, said: "We're still deciding what to do as we weren't expecting it at all."

Croxson managing director Peter Wright would not comment.