Prontaprint has settled a dispute with Colourflow before going to court, in which it had accused Colourflow of unlawfully interfering with its franchise agreements.

Prontaprint had taken out a High Court injunction against Colourflow and also named Colourflow managing director Tony Hooke and sales director Mark Burdge as defendants.

It subsequently undertook that it would not make any further claim in relation to the allegations, while Colourflow, Hooke and Burdge agreed, without admission of liability, that they wouldn't "persuade, solicit, induce, assist, enable or otherwise procure any franchisee" to transfer their business.

They also agreed not to pass themselves off as Prontaprint, the Prontaprint Franchise Association, or any director, employee, agent or servant of the firm.

"We agreed that we wouldn't interfere with their franchises - but we never intended to," said Burdge, who worked in franchise sales for Prontaprint before moving to Colourflow 18 months ago.

Prontaprint chairman Nigel Toplis said the judgement was "absolutely in our favour" and "totally vindicated our policy".
"It is our duty and our cause to protect the integrity of our franchise, our franchisees and our brand," he said. "Occasionally we have to refer to the courts to help us in this quest."

He also maintained that he was "confident that all franchisees will support our position".

Colourflow is also hoping to build up a network of high-street print sales offices but produces print from centralised sites in Bracknell and London, where it has digital and large-format presses.