The insolvency practitioner in consultation with the company Napier & Sons said that since C&R Print bought the assets of Graham & Heslip in December last year, suppliers and rival printers had not supported the company, leading to its demise.

C&R Print has now made its 81 staff redundant and closed its doors on Friday (26 March).

A meeting of creditors is expected to take place in mid April, at which point it is thought a liquidator will be appointed.

John Gordon, managing partner at Napier & Sons, is consulting with C&R Print directors Diarmuid McGarry, previously director at Graham & Heslip, and Adrian Glenn, who is a director at fellow Belfast printer Impression Print & Design.

He told PrintWeek: "Before they did the deal, the directors [of C&R Print] spoke to suppliers and felt there was a core business to go forward with. But literally the day the company was purchased, they were blackballed by printers in the market. Printers put pressure on suppliers and nobody would support them.

"Coming into this fresh, I think the criticism against the two directors is unwarranted; these two put their money on the line and saved jobs."

Graham & Heslip's administration was shrouded in controversy, with Unite alleging that proper actions were not taken before redundancies took place, and the later revelation that Graham & Heslip had left £3.1m worth of bad debt behind.

Clarifications: C&R Print of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland, which was established 1979, is in no way associated with the C&R Print, which has its registered office in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, that purchased the assets of Graham & Heslip.

C&R Print is in no way connected to Taylor Bloxham subsidiary C&R Printing in Enderby, Leicestershire.