2012: a busy year

2012 produced challenges, achievements, and more than a few changes for the industry. New PrintNZ manager Ruth Cobb reviews an eventful year

The major change within PrintNZ, the recent departure of chief executive Joan Grace, has called to mind Joan’s immense contribution to the industry with farewell functions around the country. She will be missed. We wish her the very best for her new endeavours in Australia.

From January, Tim Pankhurst becomes the new general manager of PrintNZ and the Communications and Media ITO. A long standing member of the ITO board, Tim has vast experience in the media industry, previous roles include chief executive of the Newspaper Publishers Association and editor of the Dominion Post, the Evening Post, the Press and Waikato Times. He will maintain an editorial advocacy role with the NPA.

Stepping into the role of PrintNZ manager, I look forward to continuing our work with members while also becoming more involved in the strategic direction of our association.

Last month, John Cudby took up the post of CMITO manager and I am sure members will welcome Tim and John on board.

The Print: Part of Life campaign is on-going. It has been pleasing to see Print Champions continue to use campaign resources to spread the positive messages about print. The campaign formed the theme of the 2012 PrintNZ conference and featured on the wide range of promotional material.

Recently, Print: Part of Life became the proud sponsor of the Print Award, presented as part of the Excellence Awards programme run by Yoobee School of Design (formerly known as Natcoll Design Technology). We look forward to presenting this award at a ceremony this month.

A lean attitude
In August, the PrintNZ High Performance Work Initiative concluded, with four print companies having completed this project. Their hard work and commitment to implementing lean
is beginning to have pay-offs, with longterm cost savings expected. PrintNZ is committed to supporting lean initiatives and we hope to provide the opportunity for other members to become involved next year.

As I write this, the PrintNZ Survey Report is being prepared and will be with our members in early January. This document remains a valuable tool for our industry and we will continue to push to maintain the participation rates to ensure that the data retains its integrity. While there have been many positives this year, the industry has also faced the continuing effects of the recession and the changing demand for print. It is inspiring to see members tackling these challenges, modifying their businesses to adapt to the current climate, and diversifying to offer a wider array of services that incorporate print alongside new media platforms.

The government review of the industry training system has challenged us. This year-long review looked at all aspects of the system and how it worked for employers and trainees.
Early indications of the review outcome were concerning, however the public consultation document, published in August, proved to be a lot more positive than expected. It was fantastic to see our members step up and have their say during the consultation process.

This, with submissions from PrintNZ, the CMITO and other industries around New Zealand, contributed to the successful outcome. We expect the government to announce minor changes to the current industry training system shortly, with implemention from 2013. We look forward to working with our members again in 2013. Our offices will close from Friday December 21, reopening Monday January 14. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Conference and member highlights
One of the year’s highlights, the successful staging of our industry conference alongside the Pride In Print Awards in June, saw more than 200 people attend this learning and networking event; the highest turnout since PrintNZ resumed the conferences in 2004. It was fantastic to see industry members taking advantage of the options of attending the full event or particular sessions of interest. The high quality speakers, such as Debbie Mayo-Smith, covered subjects including marketing, technology and business, generated excellent feedback. The support of our industry sponsors including principal sponsors Aarque Group, Böttcher, Fuji Xerox and Hostmann-Steinberg, made it possible to hold this valuable industry event. Building on this success, in 2013 PrintNZ will stage a one-day conference in Wellington on May 3, the same day as the Pride In Print Awards. Feedback from this year’s conference confirmed the industry’s support for running these two key industry events alongside each other, allowing people to attend both and save on the costs of travel,
accommodation and time away from the business.

PrintNZ members enjoyed significant success at this year’s Pride In Print Awards. The Apprentice of the Year finalists were also recognised at this event, with Gareth Hilton of Rapid Labels taking out this prestigious training award. Gareth went on to win the Australasian Flexographic Apprentice of the Year Award run by the Australia New Zealand Flexographic Technical Association (ANZFTA) in September.

The Apprentice of the Year finalists, top print diploma trainees, training supervisors and companies were all celebrated at the combined Apprentice Awards and PrintNZ conference dinner. During the year PrintNZ held a wide range of member events, from seminars on legislation updates to golf days, Women in Print and member evenings.

These events were well supported and we look forward to staging these again in 2013.

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