Speaking to PrintWeek yesterday (1 May), managing director Peter Scott confirmed that his company was in the process of going into liquidation. He declined to comment further at this time.

According to several sources, the firm recently lost a large contract with a brand who chose to offshore print services to China. This has yet to be confirmed.

While official paperwork has yet to be filed, the liquidation is taking place just as Printfine, which was founded in 1968, was about to mark its half century. The company was posting photographs of its print jobs on its Instagram account as recently as late February this year.

In August 2016, Printfine installed the UK’s first five-colour B1 Komori GL40 e-UV plus coater for a price tag of £1.3m. It joined an LS 540 and an LS 240 perfector press, both by Komori, as well as two Xerox Versant machines.

At that time, the firm employed 42 staff and had sales of £4m. At the time, Scott told PrintWeek he had ambitions to add £1m to that within a year.

Currently, the status and number of Printfine’s staff, along with the trading status of the business, can not be confirmed.

Printfine, which described itself as Liverpool’s only B1 sheetfed printer, supplied high-end litho and digital commercial print, which has recently included work for the Tate Liverpool, the World Museum and the Liverpool Philharmonic – according to its Instagram feed.