Managing director of the credit checking firm, Ian Carrotte, told PrintWeek: "In 20 years of credit checking, March has always been our busiest month. After Christmas cash flows are tight and people are pushing hard for their debts.
"This is not a normal year, there are additional circumstances. Everybody is struggling with cash flow because the banks aren't supporting well.
"With the amount of work we already have, it would not be too strong a word to say March and April could be catastrophic."
Carrotte added that well-managed companies that find their way through the current turmoil are likely to thrive once the upturn comes.
He was talking as ICSM announced that it had recovered £2.4m of bad debt for printers so far this year.
Another £1.75m could have been recouped if it had been called in sooner, Carotte claimed.
He added: "We see the industry sitting back, hands covering eyes, trying to ignore a problem that really needn't be anywhere near as bad.
"Printers should start taking the threats they face much more seriously and act sooner to recover their money through specialists like us."
Last year ICSM recovered £9m worth of debt owed to UK printers although a further £3m was written off.
ICSM claims survivors of coming 'catastrophic' months will thrive
Printers which survive the next couple of months can expect to thrive once the recession is over, but the next two months could be "catastrophic" for many companies, ICSM has warned.
