Months of complaints from unpaid suppliers have foreshadowed the collapse of Melbourne digital print business On Demand, with sources tipping liquidators to take over the office today. The company has already ‘licenced’ its name and transferred equipment to a new company, Production Printing (Aust) Pty Ltd, directed by On Demand manager Con Maniatis – though On Demand owner Bruce Peddlesden is not thought to be involved. Its directors are Maniatis, former PMI Imageworks man Tim Farrell, and Michael Wu, director of Ability Press in Melbourne.
Bruce Peddlesden
Production Printing will trade from the same premises with the same equipment, minus the debt. The news of the iconic company’s fall comes in the same year as high profile Sydney digital print business Group Momentum went broke. It is not yet known how much On Demand owes its creditors or how it ran into trouble, but numerous upset print suppliers are saying they have not been paid since early in the year. Industry sources say numerous equipment manufacturers including Canon, HP Finance and Currie Group are also angry at a lack of financing payments, and that Fuji Xerox removed multiple digital printers months ago as a result. A letter to suppliers from Maniatis says all of the company’s existing facilities, equipment and staff will trade as Production Printing, and invoices should be made out to the new group from October 16. According to ASIC listings, Production Printing (Aust) Pty Ltd was registered on August 22. On Demand Pty Ltd has also changed its name, to Bruce Peddlesden vehicle BAP Nominees (Vic) Pty Ltd. Multi-award winning On Demand is one of the most high profile digital printers in the country, with a reputation for installing the latest technology including the highly specified Océ ColorStream high volume webfed inkjet printer which it has recently upgraded to 128m a minute print speed.
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