Deanprint - Stockport

Stepping inside, we were cautious at first—it didn’t quite feel abandoned. There’s always a lingering unease with this hobby, the nagging thought that you might stumble into a place under the mistaken impression it’s derelict, only to find an angry and confused owner inside. Explaining that you’re there to take photos of their active workplace never goes down well, from past experience anyway.

We moved carefully through the joinery, which looked as if it had been abruptly left mid-project the night before. The faint sense of unease began to lift as we made our way deeper into the factory, confirming that the place was indeed abandoned. It had reached that perfect stage of decay: the paint was peeling, vegetation was creeping in, but the roof was far from giving way.

In the offices, remnants of the past lingered—a collection of vintage PC hardware gathering dust, as if no one had thought it worth the trouble to pack up their old Windows 95 setup when they left.

Among the scattered artifacts, we found an assortment of printing press tools, master copy books, and an ominous-looking register of deaths. As of May 2023, the company officially entered administration, leaving the future of this historic building uncertain.

History

“A young entrepreneur named Joseph who was born into poverty and rose against the expectations of his peers by setting up his own travel agency in 1871. He later recognised the benefit of being able to print his own travel brochures rather than outsourcing the work and in 1890 his printing business was born. His travel company was later acquired by Thomas Cook and with Joseph's efforts being concentrated on his printing business he managed to grow the business as one of the most well respected printing and bookbinding companies in the UK. The printers specialist services included Coptic binding, limited edition books, split page books, menu covers, index cutting, tab cutting, and shaped books which according to former employers were skills other businesses would struggle to do. years Later in 2022 the business was acquired by 'Manchester Printers Group' where they relocated to a trading estate in Stockport. On 4 April a notice of intention to appoint administrators was filed. This protects the business from any potential action from its creditors while the sale process is ongoing. On April 24th the staff were laid off and the company went into administration for reasons not 100% clear”.