PrintWeek reported earlier this year that the company that appears to be run from a site in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and was initially operating as Litho Printing Ltd t/a The Printing Press, had rebranded as Book Printer UK Ltd. It now appears to have retained its Book Printer UK trading name but changed its company name on 14 November on Companies House from Litho Printing Ltd to Printed Books Ltd. The company's previous names include Paper Press Ltd and UK Print Ltd. 

The Printing Press has no relation to Hampshire-based The Printing Press Ltd and specialist letterpress printer and bindery Book Printers Ltd of Finedon, Northamptonshire, which was founded in 2004, is no way associated with Book Printer UK. 

As with Litho Printing Ltd, Printed Books Ltd still lists Clair Rosina Hunnisett and Stuart Ralph Poppleton as resigned directors. Hunnisett was the sole director of Ink Paper Ltd, the company identified at the beginning of this year as being a new incarnation of UK Print, which operated from the same address as Printed Books: 71-75 Sheltons St, London, United Kingdom WC2H 9JQ. She resigned the same day as Poppleton was appointed but was then re-appointed on 6 September 2017.

Printed Books Ltd currently has no active directors, according to Companies House.

A number of clients have contacted PrintWeek this week and relayed issues they’ve had with Printed Books’ apparent director Neill Malcolm Stuart John, the man last year identified as the print farmer that takes deposits for jobs and then, often quoting alleged production problems, fails to deliver full orders.

One of the former clients, comic book author Tab Kimpton, is taking the matter to the small claims court in Manchester on 21 December, to challenge John over the £3,000 he says he is owed. Kimpton hired Book Printer UK for the second time for a run of his new comic books but claims that after several months of delays they were issued to him with a blank page at the start and the page numbers in the wrong place.

“When I talked to them [Book Printer UK] about it they gave me some rubbish about sending it on to customer services,” said Kimpton.

“I have received no response about whether they would fix the problem. Generally, in the industry there would be a re-print, that’s the standard thing, but when I said I’d have to take it further they said ‘We don’t want this to go to court but that’s unfortunate if it would, unless you want to contribute some money towards a re-print’.”

This was not the first time Kimpton had used Book Printer UK, commissioning it for a run of 150 books last year, for which he received 500 but was told he could keep them all at no extra charge.

“They gave me the incentive that it would cost less money to get them all done in advance, I’m kicking myself over it now,” he added. 

Another two clients, children’s author Rebecca Smith and a customer that wished to remain anonymous, have both had similar experiences. The unnamed customer spent just shy of £1,000 on a run of books in the summer, which they had still not received weeks after putting the orders in, before cutting ties. They have so far received around £300 back. 

 “I’m hoping against hope we might be able to collectively take out a private prosecution against him [John],” said the source. 

“If we could get him for something that he’s done personally he couldn’t hide behind limited liability; it would open the floodgates.” 

Smith issued an order for a run of her new children’s book in August then delayed it until early November, at which point she asked John if he could fulfil it and was assured that he could, in time for a book launch a week after the order was placed. The books didn’t arrive and, although Smith has been refunded the full amount, she said John acted “very aggressively towards her” when she asked for a refund. 

“The reason that I feel so passionate about this is that even though I got a refund I just can’t believe this guy took me for such a ride,” she said.  

A former client, Berni Albrighton, who has still only been refunded £570 from a £2,080 failed order, said she had been contacted by a number of others and called for action.

Albrighton said: “The whole thing puzzles me. Malcolm [John] must be slightly unhinged because he fills his life with lies and false personas and people hounding him. The stress and complexity of the whole situation must be off the scale.”

Kimpton and the others also all reported that when they challenged John after the delays and issues, he sent them a list of former client’s phone numbers and email addresses with which to placate them. This behaviour has been reported by other clients in the past and PrintWeek understands a number of John’s former clients have complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

PrintWeek was not able to reach Book Printer UK for comment.