Page 10 - Print 21 July-August 2019

Leading Article
Birds of a feather
At large... Patrick Howard explores the goings on, the ins and outs, the ups and downs, the triumphs and occasional failures of print and printers, here, there and everywhere.
Iwent out to Dooley’s Club at Silverwater the other week for a night of printing reminiscences at the invitation of the Australian Society of Old Friends,
specifically James Cryer and Scott Telfer (report on page 81 this issue). I’ve known both of them for many years. They’re enthusiasts for print, the printing industry, and the social life of industry associations.
The affair was a joint venture run by four industry associations; the Old Friends, the LIA (NSW), the Press Gang, and the Penrith Print Museum. Even John Georgantzakos, owner of Spot Press came along as a director of the Printing Industries Association
of Australia (PIAA). It drew around 30 industry die-hards on a Tuesday night, all men, all of a certain age and quite a few of considerably advanced age. There was a good dinner, a ‘buy your own drinks’ bar, and
lots of laughter as three retired industry notables shared tales and experiences of when we were young.
I’m of an age when I feel very comfortable in this type of company and I look forward to the next meeting.
Printing expects
The night made me consider the role of printing industry associations. Once a vibrant sector steeped in craft tradition, in latter times it’s struggled with relevance and falling membership. The Old Friends, the Press Gang, and the LIA (that's the Lithographic Institute of Australia for those not familiar with the acronym) are some
of the few organisations for individuals; all the rest have corporate memberships. The Old Friends started in the UK in 1909 to encourage retired printers to keep in touch. The LIA considers itself a technical body, concerned with the advances in printing while encouraging apprentices into the industry. The Press Gang is a newspaper printing association. The Penrith Printing Museum needs no explanation.
It’s fair to say all of them are finding it hard to attract members and engagement.
I recall a Press Gang lunch in the 1990s where the capacious Tattersall dining room in Sydney was packed with newspaper people and the carousing went on until well after dinner. That doesn’t happen any more.
The highlight of the LIA calendar is the Heidelberg Apprentice of the Year dinner, which manages to draw a decent crowd, mainly because everyone’s relatives come along.
Massive consolidation throughout the industry has seen the number of printing businesses fall to around 4000 in Australia. This is less than half what it was at the beginning of the new century. Printing companies are merging every week; many for good financial reasons. Corporate
associations are following suit. [Warning acronym blizzard ahead.] The employer’s PIAA subsumed the Packaging Council. The merger of GAMAA and VISA formed supplier association, Visual Connections. The label and flexo mob, FPLMA, came from ANZFTA and LATMA. RMC is the merged result of the ACA, APIA and TSA. SGIAA, for what were screen printers and now includes digital wide format, has just become Fespa Australia.
There are plenty of others associations; ASGA for sign people, and Appita for the pulp and paper industry just two, inplant printers have NIPPA.
Suffice to say all are under pressure and must continually review mission statements. It all begs the question; what is the proper
role of an industry association? Ad hoc associations such as the
Melbourne Print Group and the Sydney Mothers Club give an indication. These loosely organised groups of printing business owners are how it all began, before associations and organisations became corporatised. Printers are invited to join
as individuals. Every couple of months competitors sit down together, comfortable in the ancient, convivial freemasonry of print, to discuss areas of common interest.
Industry associations face the same consolidating pressures as everyone else, but it is important to remember they exist for the benefit of their members. 21
Patrick Howard
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