New offset hub comes to Sydney

2009 is looking to be a tough year for printers, but there has never been a better time to join a hub, according to Kerim El Gabaili, coordinator of Sydney's new offset printing collective.

Based in Auburn, the hub  –  which is expected to open in March next year  – has been in the making for over a year now. As former chairman of Co-operative Sydney Digital Print (CDP) which opened in September 2006, El Gabaili saw the potential to roll out the same business model again.

"The digital hub was a perfect case study of how this can work," he said.

The new hub is located on the same block as CDP so that both groups can compliment the other and take care of customer's work in both offset and digital. While El Gabaili (pictured) will focus on establishing the offset hub, Trevor Boreham of Inform Print has taken on the role of chairman for CDP.

One of the advantages of being part of a hub is that it allows members access to the latest equipment so that they can in turn compete with the larger companies.

"This is a great opportunity for smaller printers to come together, work collectively and be more efficient than the big printers," El Gabaili said.

One Sydney company, Prografica, has already joined while El Gabaili is in discussions with five other companies. He aims to attract eight to 10 companies all up, who do not necessarily need to be located in Sydney.

"It would suit Melbourne-based printers who have clients in Sydney," he said.

Once members have been selected, the second phase of the hub's rollout will be finding and installing the best equipment which can complement the work each company does. El Gabaili is expecting to purchase two 2-colour and one 5-colour press.

A firm believer in the value of teamwork and collaboration, El Gabaili lists these traits as vital to the success of a hub.

"The fundamental key is having good leadership and good people who are willing to change their thinking to focus on 'what's in it for the group', not 'what's in it for me'," he said.

El Gabaili is well aware of the changing economic landscape and the impacts that this will have on the printing industry. These reasons made opening another hub all the more compelling; for him it is a way of surviving and staying strong.

"The big players are all merging to create more efficiencies," he said. "This is an opportunity to do the same at the smaller end of town."

Interested parties can contact Kerim El Gabaili about the offset print hub on 9564 3212 or 0412 442 217, or email kerim@prografica.com.au