Letters, feedback, get it off your chest

Dear Sir,



I was a little flummoxed by the lack of response to James Cryer's letter and would like to add my concerns and thoughts to his.

It seems not so far back that an opinion questioning the viability (and indeed the qualification standards) of awarding prizes based upon technical qualities would be shouted down by all and sundry. My own personal opinion is that such awards are outdated, subjective and sadly irrelevant when weighted against the issues we face today as an industry.

Take for instance, the Sappi awards. They are a fantastic example of measuring Australian print quality against the rest of the world - as long as you print on one of Sappi's stocks - which limits probably more than 95 per cent of all print jobs undertaken in Australia. Our own National Print Awards include prizes sponsored by equipment and consumable vendors which could also be viewed as impinging upon the unbiased criteria which works of excellence should be judged. I am not suggesting anything untoward, only the diluted credibility of such awards - which should be seen to be fully independent - which in turn requires clarity and feedback for both winning and losing entries - especially when work that is passed over by one set of judges, can be considered amongst world's best by another.

Since these awards are based upon a very small sample of the entire printed and finished work (which has been safely vetted by staff and management - its ok, we've all done it!) - and appear to be judged subjectively - are we are guilty of scrutinising ourselves through a pinhole - rather than taking a much broader view? As an industry that historically boasted of exceeding standards, maybe we should be rewarding ourselves for setting and meeting new standards - consistently, without fear or favour. So quite possibly the kudos given to such subjective awards (albeit of isolated technical excellence) is an anachronism these days.

Surely we are operating in such challenging times in which we should be more concerned with how we are viewed externally (ie. by print consumers and buyers), rather than by back slapping and hand wringing over how sharply some dots are printed! Environmental considerations, workplace conditions, and innovation are becoming increasingly important factors in the selection process of print buyers the world over, and will continue to trend this way in the coming years.

Maybe it is time we took time to find a way of acknowledging (and measuring) ongoing excellence in all aspects of our industry, as opposed to the old fashioned ones, and start looking forward, rather than continually peering over our shoulders.

Glenn O'Connor


Primary Colour

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