UK printers 'improving payment times'

The UK printing industry is now ranked 11th out of 35 industries in terms of how promptly it makes payments.

UK printers have improved their performance when it comes to making payments on time, new data has revealed.

According to figures from Experian, the print industry was 11th out of the 35 fastest-paying sectors in August, Print Week reports.

The data showed UK printers that miss payment deadlines now send the necessary money within 18.06 days, down from 20.3 in August 2009.

"While the sector is still late, it has done well - 11th out of 35 industries is pretty good," a spokeswoman for Experian was quoted as saying, adding the result is "pretty significant".

Statistics also showed business insolvency rates among UK printing, paper and packaging companies are static at present, while the financial strength of the sector has dipped slightly, falling to 78.64 points from 79.42 a year ago.

Earlier this month, the British Print Industries Federation called on the government to provide greater assistance to the UK printing industry in the form of a sectoral finance initiative.