It seems like only the recent past that in 2018, busy Trumbull Printing was strutting the installation of Quad Tech’s RGS with MultiCam on two of its all-colour press lines.

Now with the presses silent, you can take your pick and make an offer online for the Goss and Tensor lines, together with 200 other lots, with bids starting at US$25 (A$40). As they say in the auction business, “everything must go”.

Plant at the once award-winning printer – which had been printing papers for publishers between Boston and Philadelphia, including the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions – is being cleared after the 5317 m2 building in Trumbull, Connecticut, was sold in 2022 for US$4.4 million

Established in 1959, Trumbull had been acquired by family-owned Hersam Acorn in 2007, along with Hometown Publications, which brought HAN’s tally to 19 newspapers and several shoppers.

Things changed that year when Hearst bought seven mastheads from Hersam Acorn. Prior to the Trumbull shutdown, Hearst had already closed its print centre in Bridgeport, consolidating production into its Albany Times Union in New York.

The online auction includes two Tensor and two Goss single-width press lines (one for spares) as well as bindery and packaging equipment, compressors, forklifts, and maintenance equipment. Both the Tensor lines have three four-highs (pictured), while one has four mono units, and the other six two-highs and the QuadTech kit. The Goss Community has two Tensor four-highs and seven mono units, while a fourth press – also Goss – has ten mono units. All are the popular 578mm cut-off with 889 web wdths.

Other items to look out for include a Konica Minolta Bizbub Pro 1100 digital print system, Kirk Rudy KR600 inserter, Müller Martini 335 saddle stitcher and

Kansa inserter. As well as forklifts, a pallet jack, and compressors.

The clearance seems a long way from the days when Trumbull was a busy, award-winning printer handling work from all over the region.

But there’s still value here, and in the right hands it could be busy again.