One proposal included reducing the amount of paper held onsite by suppliers and only delivering stock at the eleventh hour.

"Despite what people say, you can't always tell when a printer is in trouble," said Diana Levy, production manager at Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Media, which until recently listed Cooper Clegg as one of its main suppliers.

"Buyers must be extremely cautious and have contingency plans in place," added Levy. "If you aren't, then you are committing professional suicide."

Levy added that while she may have placed work with a "financially shaky" company in the past, the industry was now under too much external pressure. "A small change in circumstances can tip a firm over the edge.

"We have also changed the way we are buying paper to lower risks," said Levy. "We are keeping as little paper as possible at printers and we are delivering it at the eleventh hour." 

English Heritage print buyer Elaine Pooke said the trading conditions were the worst she had seen in 28 years in print, adding that one of her suppliers had recently gone under.

Pooke said that although the government organisation had "stringent buying guidelines", it remained difficult to predict which businesses would go under. "I am saddened whenever we lose another UK printer."

"I am sure buyers are anxious about this and I feel sorry for the ones who are trapped with jobs and paper stuck at firms that close."

She added: "They will be drawing up tighter contacts, completing detailed audits and looking though accounts when choosing new suppliers. We have become more alert about things like this."

Lisa Kendall, senior print buyer with charity Help the Aged, said: "We always buy at a fair price but I am sure some buyers feel guilty about the position printers are in if they have been pushing prices down."

She agreed buyers were becoming anxious and looking more closely at suppliers to ensure they were financially sound.

If you have any more evidence of how buyers are changing their practices in order to mitigate these risky conditions, let us know by commenting below.