Machray wrote in an open letter in the Liverpool Echo that the move to Oldham, which may result in the loss of 100 printing jobs, was "the only decision we could take".
He said: "Our first thoughts are with those who may lose their jobs and we hope a number of them will relocate to Oldham.
''But we need a new press or our advertisers will go elsewhere. And to build that in Liverpool would cost upwards of £28m."
Machray went on to say that the cost of expansion at Oldham is expected to be around £7.5m, considerably less than building upon Liverpool – an option that "would be commercial suicide and would have meant hundreds more job losses," he said.
The newspaper company plans to shift the printing of its North West titles, which include the Liverpool Post as well as the Liverpool Echo, to its Oldham facility.
It is anticipated that the move, which will provide each of the titles with full-colour printing, will take around 15 months, with the Liverpool plant to close at the end of next year.
He said that the editorial team would remain in the city. "We've been here for 153 years – and in that time we've provided thousands upon thousands of people with jobs. And that's the plan for the next 153 years," he said.
Echo editor defends Trinity Mirror Printing's move out of Liverpool
Liverpool Echo editor Ali Machray has defended Trinity Mirror Printing's decision to close its Liverpool plant, citing anticipated expansion costs of 28m-plus that would result in "commercial suicide" for the newspaper.
