'Time to wake up' as leading printers burned in $1.6m collapse

The $1.6 million failure of a Sydney print broker has proved no one is safe, with some of the highest-profile and most respected printers caught out.

Octopus Solutions was wound up by creditors on 10 May, owing $334,000 to Offset Alpine Printing, $184,000 to SOS Print & Media Group and $146,000 to Blue Star Print Group.

Other creditors included Focus Press ($93,770), IntoPrint ($62,574), Southern Colour NSW ($56,000), Caxton Web ($35,050), Artvue Printing ($32,779), STI Lilyfield ($27,110), A1 Printmaster ($22,662) and iGroup Australia ($15,245).

It is thought the print broker's accounts included Macquarie Bank as well as some magazine publishers.

Liquidator Adam Shepard of Dean-Willcocks Shepard told ProPrint that the 33 creditors would not be getting any money back and that the Warriewood-based company had no assets.

Octopus owner-director Michael O'Hara refused to comment.

Shepard told the meeting that O'Hara had said Octopus had been "highly leveraged" and that "attempts to inject capital into the business using his personal assets… had failed due to a loss of major contracts as a result [of his] clients' downsizing".

Michael Schulz, director of SOS Print & Media, said the Sydney-based printer was exploring its legal options.

He said the bad debt was a sign SOS and others needed to tighten their debtor controls. "It is time for the industry to wake up."

Focus Press managing director David Fuller said his company had been doing work for Macquarie Bank and a publisher. "We were insured, thank goodness."

Another creditor who lost tens of thousands of dollars said he was frustrated with the industry's approach to credit.

"Maybe it's time for printers to change the way they do business with their [debtors]," he said.

Octopus was founded in 2002 and specialised in print management, online project management, fulfilment, warehouse and logistics, according to its website. The company had three staff, said Shepard.

Octopus Solutions Pty Ltd is in no way related to Octopus Productions Pty Ltd.