Blairgowrie Printers (Former), 5-7, Reform Street, Blairgowrie

Purpose-built printing works erected in 1880. It is a single storey and attic, rectangular-plan building housing fixed printing and type-setting machinery dating from around 1893 to around 1960. The building is located near the centre of Blairgowrie and the gable end faces the street. It is constructed of rendered brick, lined as ashlar with stone cills. The window and door openings are rounded headed to the gable-ended street elevation.

The windows are 2-paned upper sashes over plate glass to the ground floor and plate glass glazing elsewhere in timber sash and case. The pitched roof is covered in grey slates and has long, continuous roof-lighting to both east and west roof pitches. There is a gablehead brick chimneystack with octagonal clay cans to the street elevation.

The interior was seen in 2016. The building is entered from the street elevation by two doorways, one in the centre leading to the offices, located to the front (north) of the plan, the other to the left leading directly into the full height, top lit printshop floor which occupies most of the centre of the ground floor and is flanked by galleried offices and paper storage to either end of the building. The earliest printing machine dates to around 1893 (Wharfedale of Otley, England). Other printing machines date to the 20th century and include the Heidelberg Automatic Platen and the Demi printers. Other printing equipment and typesetting materials are in situ (see below). There is a paper store and a boiler room (including a type foundry) to the rear (south) of the plan. (Historic Environment Scotland)

20 October 2022: Nominated by the local planning authority due to concerns around condition and possible damage to remaining printing machinery due to water ingress. FOR INVESTIGATION.

28 April 2023: Desk-based assessment using photographs and information from Historic Environment Scotland Planning, Consents and Advice Team, gathered during a site visit at the former printworks, with a representative of the building owner.

The printworks are currently disused, with the owners considering next steps for the both the buildings and machinery. Overall the building is in fair condition - the roof is mostly intact, with recent repairs to both the ridge and rooflights reported to have been undertaken. Windows and glazings are intact. There are areas of dampness to the base of walls and cracked, spalled render, notably to rear. Earth has built up at the rear of the building. There is evidence of water ingress to the interior, to the south-east and north-west walls, possibly as a result of broken rooflights and defective valley gutter. Recent repairs are understood to have taken place, and these should prevent further internal damage.