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With the world's economic problems caused by short-sighted, over-zealous bankers, the occurrence of "moral hazard" is attracting a lot of analysis. Moral hazard - when an individual or business takes excessive risks because it is not fully exposed to the consequences of those risks, often due to the protection of a third party - became rife when the risk-takers went too far. The government intervention at Northern Rock is a case in point, while in the US, Hank Paulson's "toxic bank" plan has removed many of the consequences for Wall Street of its five-year debt-and-bonus binge.

The print industry is rapidly creating a similar problem. The rise of pre-packs is removing the incentive for some to run businesses profitably. Why not run up arrears with suppliers when the business can be dipped into administration and saved with no job losses and seamless continuity?

Suppliers are running out of fingers to be burnt as more and more companies are put into administration and then bought out in pre-packs, often with the directors re-emerging in the same business.

It is welcome to see suppliers beginning to take a stand. But it has to be remembered that they are the victims rather than a factor in the rise of pre-packs, as they are sometimes portrayed. I would imagine that many are having heated discussions with insurers as millions of pounds are written off in bad debts.

The consequences of risk needs to be reattributed to those who take it. Suppliers will play a part and need to follow through on their threats to cut off supply to pre-pack buyers; it will take time, but this should gradually reduce the number of pre-packs.

We also need to overhaul the administration process. Hasty pre-pack deals don’t always secure the best value for creditors, and if there was more provision for businesses to restructure under creditor protection, we would see less debt being written off and it would give administrators more time to find the most suited buyer. Elements of our trade are becoming uninsurable and this is going to have ramifications across the industry and heap pressure on those trying to run profitable businesses in these turbulent times.

William Mitting is news editor of PrintWeek.