EXHIBIT 10.1 (f)

SIXTH AMENDMENT

SIXTH AMENDMENT (this "Amendment"), dated as of October 17, 2002, among ACG HOLDINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation ("Holdings"), AMERICAN COLOR
GRAPHICS, INC., a New York corporation (the "Borrower"), the lenders party to the Credit Agreement referred to below (the "Lenders") and DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS (f/k/a Bankers
Trust Company), as Administrative Agent (in such capacity, the "Administrative Agent"). All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the respective meanings provided
such terms in the Credit Agreement referred to below.

W I T N E S S E T H:

WHEREAS, Holdings, the Borrower, the Lenders, General Electric Capital Corporation, as Documentation Agent, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as
Syndication Agent, and the Administrative Agent are parties to a Credit Agreement, dated as of August 15, 1995 and amended and restated as of May 8, 1998 (as so amended and restated and
as the same has been further amended, modified and/or supplemented to, but not including, the date hereof, the "Credit Agreement"); and

WHEREAS,
the parties hereto wish to amend the Credit Agreement as herein provided;

NOW,
THEREFORE, it is agreed:

1.    Section 2.6(i) of
the Credit Agreement is hereby amended by deleting the text "Sections 8.1(e) and (f)" appearing in said Section and inserting the text
"Sections 8.1(e), (f) and (k)" in lieu thereof.

2.    Section 8.1
of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended by (i) deleting the word "and" appearing at the end of clause (i) of said Section,
(ii) deleting the period at the end of clause (j) of said Section and inserting the text "; and" in lieu thereof and (iii) inserting the following new clause (k)
immediately after clause (j) of said Section:



3.    Section 8.12
of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended by (i) deleting the amount "$15,000,000" appearing in subclause (y) of clause (i) of
said Section and inserting the amount "$30,000,000" in lieu thereof and (ii) inserting the following proviso immediately after the text "for all such repurchases pursuant to this
clause (y)" appearing in subclause (y) of clause (i) of said Section:



4.    In
order to induce the Lenders to enter into this Amendment, each of Holdings and the Borrower hereby represents and warrants that:



27

---



5.    This
Amendment is limited as specified and shall not constitute a modification, acceptance or waiver of any other provision of the Credit Agreement or any other Credit
Document.

6.    This
Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the different parties hereto on separate counterparts, each of which counterparts when executed and
delivered shall be an original, but all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. A complete set of counterparts shall be lodged with the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.

7.    THIS
AMENDMENT AND THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES HEREUNDER SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

8.    This
Amendment shall become effective on the date (the "Sixth Amendment Effective Date") when Holdings, the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders
constituting the Required Lenders shall have signed a counterpart hereof (whether the same or different counterparts) and shall have delivered (including by way of facsimile transmission) the same to
the Administrative Agent at its Notice Office.

9.    So
long as the Sixth Amendment Effective Date occurs, the Borrower shall pay to each Lender which has executed a counterpart hereof on or prior to 5:00 P.M. (New
York time) on the later to occur of October 31, 2002 or the Sixth Amendment Effective Date, a consent fee equal to 0.10% of the sum of (x) its Revolving Loan Commitment as in effect on
the Sixth Amendment Effective Date and (y) the aggregate principal amount of its A Term Loans and B Term Loans outstanding on the Sixth Amendment Effective Date. All fees payable pursuant to
the immediately preceding sentence shall be paid to the Administrative Agent within one Business Day after the later date specified in the immediately preceding sentence, which fees shall be
distributed by the Administrative Agent to the relevant Lenders in the amounts specified in the immediately preceding sentence.

10.  From
and after the Sixth Amendment Effective Date, all references in the Credit Agreement and each of the Credit Documents to the Credit Agreement shall be deemed to be
references to the Credit Agreement as amended hereby.

*    *    *

28

---

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the parties hereto has caused a counterpart of this Amendment to be duly executed and delivered as of the date first above written.

| |  | ACG HOLDINGS, INC.                                                                                                     
| |  | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |  | By:                                                                                                                    
| |  | AMERICAN COLOR GRAPHICS, INC.                                                                                          
| |  | By:                                                                                                                    
| |  | DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY
    AMERICAS(f/k/a Bankers Trust
    Company), Individually and as
    Administrative Agent
| |  | By:                                                                                                                    
| |  | GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL
    CORPORATION,Individually and as Documentation Agent                                       
| |  | By:                                                                                                                    
| |  | MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING,
    INC., Individually and as Syndication Agent                                         
| |  | By:                                                                                                                    

29

---

| |  | SUNAMERICA SENIOR FLOATING RATE
    FUND INC.
By: STANFIELD CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC
    as Subadvisor
| |  | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |  | By:                                                                                               
| |  | DEUTSCHE BANK AG CAYMAN ISLANDS
    BRANCH                                                        
| |  | By:                                                                                               
| |  | By:                                                                                               
| |  | EMERALD ORCHARD LIMITED                                                                           
| |  | By:                                                                                               
| |  | HIGHLAND LEGACY LIMITED
By: HIGHLAND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT,
    L.P. as Collateral Manager           
| |  | By:                                                                                               
| |  | TRANSAMERICA BUSINESS CREDIT
    CORPORATION                                                      
| |  | By:                                                                                               

30

---

| |  | UPS CAPITAL CORPORATION      
| |  | -----------------------------
| |  | By:                          
| |  | KZH HIGHLAND-2 LLC           
| |  | By:                          
| |  | KZH CYPRESSTREE-1 LLC        
| |  | By:                          
| |  | ORIX FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
| |  | By:                          

31

---

QuickLinks