Insolvency practitioners have been appointed to liquidate a design and print firm that has been trading for almost four decades.

East Anglian Daily Times: Alphaprint premises in Colchester. Picture: Jessica HillAlphaprint premises in Colchester. Picture: Jessica Hill (Image: Archant)

Alphaprint occupies a 30,000sq ft site on Challenge Way off Hythe Hill in Colchester, and employs around 20 people.

The company has an in-house design studio, a print facility incorporating six printing presses, on-site bindery, die cutting and creasing, metallic foiling, mailing, warehousing and distribution and a digital print centre. This enables Alphaprint to design, print, finish, mail, store and distribute, all from its single site.

Five days before Christmas, liquidators Mark Reynolds of Valentine & Co and Finbarr O’Connell of Smith & Williamson LLP were appointed by members and creditors.

The company is officially registered as Alphaprint (Colchester) Limited, and has been a limited company since 1984. The director of Alphaprint is Gregory Pye, and the secretary is Darren Pye.

East Anglian Daily Times: An Alphaprint designAn Alphaprint design (Image: Archant)

The accounts for the year ending April 2017 show that £201,030 was owed to creditors, including £145,705 due to trade creditors within one year.

Alphaprint’s clients, mentioned on its website, include Writtle University College, Colchester Borough Council and Lifehouse Spa and Hotel.

Alphaprint ran a number of environmental initiatives, including a paper pick up service for old print that customers wished to recycle, and was one of only a few printing organisations nationally to be certified by the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) and also the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certifications).

The name Alphaprint has now been saved and some of the jobs spared after being bought up by Ipswich company Bravo Print, read the full story here