Administrators Paul Front and Brian Green of KPMG were officially appointed yesterday evening but Green told PrintWeek that it was too early to speculate on a sale, adding that it was "early days" in the administration process.

Staff at the printing arm of Blackburns were sent home yesterday and told to return tomorrow for a 10am meeting where they "will be told of their future".

Blackburns employs 315 staff and has a turnover of around £32m. Last year it announced plans to make 13 redundancies as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Neither managing director Nick Atkinson, nor chairman Robert Atkinson, could be reached for comment.