PMP and IPMG add ammunition to APIA’s fight in war against print: Stream conference

Forget the war on drugs or terror, industry body, APIA, is gaining traction in hitting back at the war waged against those in printing, recently adding major printers PMP and IPMG to its growing list of supporters.

APIA’s leader, Bernard Cassell, delivered two passionate addresses on both days of the Stream conference, urging all printers in the room to become members and assist the campaign.

According to Cassell, two of Australia’s largest print groups, IPMG and PMP recently signed up, both giving the campaign funds, which he sees as a positive sign. “The large guys are acknowledging that they need to be a part of this too,” he said.

Richard Allely, CEO of PMP, told Print21 that his company has agreed to become an associate member. "There's a strong message [in our industry] to communicate and that's best done through one voice rather than several," he said. "We think that APIA is the appropriate voice for the industry."

Already, half a dozen Stream suppliers have assured Cassell that they will join up. "It's very encouraging to get that kind of support so quickly," he said.

Stream Solutions has been a member of APIA since 2008 and, along with Australia Paper, helped with the production of a book which the group is currently preparing to send to every politician in Australia to educate them on the industry.

Aside from money, the group is also calling for action. “We need to answer back in the war – plenty of people tell lies about our industry. The environmental lobbies get away with almost everything,” Cassell said. “Our industry is being conned and manipulated and we’re not extracting a pound of flesh in return.”

Cassell has been active in the fight on all fronts. For example, when his daughter’s teacher made claims that printing was bad for the environment, he threatened the school with legal action. He believes that it is even possible to open the eyes of technology-dependent youth.

“My 21-year-old daughter now defends printing at university,” he said. “It does actually work if you keep at people.”

Pictured: Bernard Cassell (left) with Andrew Price, fighting the good fight.

APIA’s target audience for 2010 is specifiers and marketers.  “We want to make them understand what is good about printing,” Cassell said. “We need to remove the legitimacy of not using print because it’s ‘bad’ for the environment. That’s the coward's way out, and if we can persuade specifiers and marketers of print’s efficiency as an advertising medium then they will continue to use it.”

Cassell also wants to take the debate into a wider arena and would even like to get an environmental group to support APIA.

“You can fight the little battles, but the war is going much wider than that, and at the moment we are barely participating in that war,” he said.

“Until we take the environmentalists on publicly, I don’t think we will get a fair hearing.”