Page 69 - Print21 March-April 2022

Associations
Being proud of what you print
PrintNZ CEO Ruth Cobb highlights the benefits of the print local campaigns.
As we immerse ourselves daily
in articles about Covid-19, the Greek alphabet of varieties of Covid-19, and how to best manage our businesses during Covid, I have taken this opportunity to write about something that is not directly Covid related, but yet in these times has never been more opportune.
We have all become proponents of Buy Local campaigns, whether that
be supporting hyper-local businesses, businesses in our cities or businesses in NZ/ Australia as applicable, doing our part to support our local economies. We are all familiar with Buy New Zealand Made and Buy Australian Made,
both successful campaigns promoting the purchase of local goods, and in NZ we have taken this a step further.
We have created the “Printed In New Zealand” campaign
to help promote the amazing array of work that is printed here, and which forms part of the products that are sold in both the domestic market, and shipped internationally. There are few products on the market that do not come in a printed package, or at least include
a piece of printed work as
part of them, and having the chance to emphasise where that printing was done is invaluable. A product may not be locally made, but if the packaging was, then let’s make sure people know about it.
One of the plus sides that has come from the ever-increasing pressure on our supply chains, with disrupted shipping pathways and increasing
prices, has been the shift of
a considerable amount of the work printed offshore back into local manufacture, to ensure
Buy print in New Zealand: Ruth Cobb, CEO PrintNZ
consistency and reliability of supply. We need to embrace this and make it difficult for that work to move away again. Being able to emphasise the local sourcing of product is a good way to do this, as many brands look to show their end users they are also supporting the local economy.
We have a strong message to print buyers – buy print in New Zealand and support local. The businesses in our industry can make sure it is the best value, and remove the risk of non- supply and spiralling freight costs that suddenly make that cheap printing from offshore not so cheap.
To further emphasise the Printed In New Zealand brand we have expanded this to run
as the theme of the Pride In Print Awards this year – that
is exactly what our Awards are about and a great way to tie
the two brands together. The Awards programme is here to showcase the incredible breadth and quality of print that is produced in New Zealand, a flow-on from which is ensuring buyers of print are aware of our industry’s capabilities, and the Awards alongside the Printed
In New Zealand logo are the perfect vehicle to do this.
The logo is available to PrintNZ members for a one-off set-up fee and they are then free to use it on every product
they wish to (with the buyer’s consent of course) and we are encouraging printers to use it
as widely as possible. The logo also carries a member identity number so that it can be tracked back to the member that printed it. This has the double function of avoiding unauthorised use, but also visibly provides a way for someone to track down who printed a piece of work, which in turn could lead to more work.
We believe the opportunities to promote our industry are vast and continue to strongly support the trans-Tasman Value of Paper and Print, Two Sides and Love Paper campaigns,
but by adding this campaign
to the mix and working across
a number of platforms, we can ensure that people recognise the value of print in New Zealand for both our members and their customers alike.
We are heading into our Awards season where we celebrate all that is good in our industry – the work and the people – and there has never been a time when it is more important to celebrate. There are many of you that have put in an extraordinary effort over the last 12 months and what better way to celebrate the work that is Printed In New Zealand and the people that printed it than by joining us at the Pride In Print Awards in Christchurch on 17 June. See you there. 21
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