Printers preached industry unity from the lectern at the NSW PICAs on Wednesday night, with leader after leader calling for the industry to work together for the common good, in an unscripted wave of emotion that caught the zeitgeist of the event.
Rawson Print Co managing director Andrew Price kicked off the unexpected call, following the usual thanks on winning his first gold, telling the 150 printers present that, “The print industry needs to be recognised for the investment it makes in manufacturing, for the high levels of skill and commitment we have. We can't go fighting each other on price, we all lose in a race to the bottom, it is not sustainable. We need to work together, we need to champion the industry.”
Price's comments drew a huge cheer from his peers and rivals, who then lined up in lockstep with him to echo his call as they collected their own gongs.
Theo Pettaras, managing director of multi-award winning Digitalpress, said, “The era of big egos in this room is behind us. That was the case 20 years ago, but now we are mature enough to work with each other for the common good. I love print, and want to see us all succeed. We need to share our stories with each other and help each other.”
WHO Print managing director Daniel Ogle paid tribute to his award-winning team, before saying, “I stand with these calls. Let's focus on the value proposition and steer clear of ripping the guts out of the industry.”
Ken Beck from gold-winning Carbon8 said, “Let's face it, this is a tough industry. I respect everyone in this room. We can all see the quality we produce, but I echo what has been said, quality print alone will not get us through, we need to get together with each other, otherwise we all lose.”
Printers are realising that their competition is not so much from each other these days but from alternative channels that clients now have.