Around 60 jobs are under threat as Northcliffe Newspapers considers whether to close its printing press in Swansea.

South West Wales Publications, which publishes the South Wales Evening Post, the Llanelli Star and the Carmarthen Journal, is proposing to close the press and move production to other Northcliffe centres.

The company has begun a 30-day consultation period with the 67 staff who work at the Adelaide Street press, and has stressed that no decision has yet been made.

SWWP managing director Chris Rees said that the proposed closure had been made with "great regret".

He said: "Our press in Swansea lacks colour capacity, and print quality is poor. Recently, the press has shown signs of unreliability."

If the proposal is confirmed, printing of all SWWP titles would be transferred to other print centres by the end of October.

Northcliffe currently has 11 printing plants across the UK, which publish its own titles as well as newspapers and magazines for external customers.

It recently closed its Exeter press, with the loss of 60 jobs, following the loss of a contract to print the Daily Mail in Plymouth.

Printing facilities at Hull, Grimsby and Lincoln also look set to be replaced by a new single plant at Elsham Wold near Brigg in North Lincolnshire, which is expected to be up and running by the end of 2007.