Letters, feedback, get it off your chest: 25 August 2010

Once more, James Cryer gets the readers writing in his call for a united industry. Why not write in and let us know your view on this, or our other stories.

Re: One industry or many, we need to work together: James Cryer’s commentary

Jim Cryer is absolutely correct as the word “print” no longer reflects what the industry does, but rather reflects the manufacturing processes within the industry.

Printing in many cases is a by-product of services and products sold. The method of production is often no longer singular or as important as the service outcome. Much I guess the same way the internet is delivering news previously supplied by various forms not withstanding the newspaper.

I think the days of grouping industry segments by process are no longer relevant but rather by wider view of the service provided; trade suppliers, publishers, packaging, print logistics, direct marketers – just to illustrate a few groupings.

As industries evolve, so to do the groupings that become more customer focused as many of the traditional process groupings merge as service delivery outcomes supersede those processes.
 
Mike Schrafft

There is no doubt that the "print" industry suffers badly from having too many associations and bodies representing it. Many of these associations are by and large in practice quite myopic in the approach of looking after their own "patch" to the detriment of the industry overall.

Whilst it can be argued that each has a specific client/membership base, this argument is often used to find reasons not to meaningfully cooperate or accept the benefits of industry association consolidation. The "industry" would in my opinion, be far better served by developing an overall paper and print industry council which had internal sub-committees which cared for each segment e.g. paper, graphic services, print, etc. and which had equal representation on the "industry" council board, which can generate policies and give representation in the overall interests of the "industry", whilst the sub-committees can take responsibility for the specific industry areas of interest.

The main benefit is a more powerful, combined voice that can properly enhance and promote the "industry", whilst adding real value to industry participants from paper to print and everyone in between. This is not a new idea of course, but is too often spoken about in theory and never properly acted on. It takes a great deal of cooperation and the putting aside of vested interests, rivalries, or "established" thinking, requiring industry leaders to show courage and a high degree of lateral thinking about what is in the best overall interests of the "industry". The time has come to put the theory into practice.
 
The debate needs to be far wider than just talking about segments within the printing sector.
 
Tony Wood (former APIA President)

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Re: Liberals missing from Printing Industries policy survey
In the many years I have been in the printing industry I have seen many printing companies bend over backwards for the Liberal Party especially at election time. You would think they would have more time supporting the people that they rely on to get the Liberal Party message out to their electorate.
 
Paul Murphy