Companies including Billingham Press, DXG Media and Ink Shop Printing Glasgow slammed paper merchants and other suppliers who continue to trade with companies that "were widely known to be on the verge of insolvency".
Manchester-based Holdmede was sold to Craig Ikin and Janette Rennicks of Eastland Colour on the 27 March, the same day that Lisa Hogg and Kelly Burton of Wilson Field were appointed joint administrators.
Ikin and Rennicks are understood to have been operations manager and commercial manager respectively at Pelican prior to its collapse.
A letter sent to creditors by Wilson Field said that the business had been sold for £20,000, with £10,000 paid on completion and the remainder to be paid in instalments.
Billingham Press managing director Ian Dodds said: "Nobody has ever saved any jobs with a phoenix – all it does it further suppress prices in the industry, cause job losses elsewhere and, ultimately, how many of them actually survive? Capacity has to be taken out otherwise we just end up prolonging the uneconomic situation over a greater period of time."
Ink Shop Printing Glasgow managing director Stuart Mason was even more vehement, threatening to boycott any supplier known to be working with Pelican Press.
He said: "If your business fails, you have my deepest sympathies – let it die. Do not expect the rest of us to absorb your bad debt through our increasing prices. There needs to be corporate responsibility in this industry."
Duarte Goncalves, managing director of Stockport-based DXG Media, added: "For a long time the unrealistic prices of this company have caused our industry many problems. When is our industry going to come together and do something about this? The government won’t so we should. I advise all our suppliers that we will pull away from any company supplying this outfit."
Pelican’s collapse was blamed by the administrators on the purchase of a secondhand press, which was funded by Close Asset Finance, and overdue taxes. Secured creditor Close Asset Finance made a charge against the company on the 17 January.
The letter to creditors said: "Following the purchase of this printing machine, a refund of approximately £100,000 was due from HMRC. This refund was to be used to fund the short-term cash flow of the business as the turnover had begun to reduce in 2011.
"Upon submission of the Company’s VAT return in 2011, HMRC confirmed that they would not be releasing the refund to the company, and it would instead be offset against the overdue PAYE balance.
"The directors approached HMRC with a view to agreeing a time to pay scheme. HMRC rejected all proposals, and threatened to distrain over the assets of the company. Following this the director approached Wilson Field with a view to obtaining professional insolvency advice."
According to the administrators Pelican Press chief executive Ian Crow is involved with the management of Eastland Colour, but is not a director.
Billingham’s Dodds said: "As a small, well-run print business we are absolutely in favour of tighter credit controls to squeeze phoenix companies out of existence.
"If we want to have a healthy and a vigorous printing industry in this country then we need to work together to stop these dubious practices."
Pelican Print, based in Aylesbury, has no connection or link with Manchester-based Pelican Press.
