BEST PRINT MANAGER - Sponsored by TRADE ONLY
Nominations: Cushion Print Management
                     Print Image Network 
                     Proof and Print
WINNER:      PRINT IMAGE NETWORK

BEST TRADE MANUFACTURER - Sponsored by SANDERSON
Nominations: TALL Security Print Ltd
                     Telprint Ltd
                     Wirral Continuous Ltd
WINNER:      TALL SECURITY PRINT LTD

BEST ASSOCIATE MEMBER - Sponsored by TALL SECURITY PRINT LTD
Nominations: Antalis
                     Ivor Solution Ltd
                     Savory Paper
WINNER:       IVOR SOLUTION LTD

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR - Sponsored by the IPIA
Nominations: Kath Doran, Spectrum Plastics Ltd
                     Glyn Hall, CFL Ltd
                     Mike Robert, Proof and Print 
WINNER:       MIKE ROBERTS, Proof and Print

An Introduction to Print, Finishing and Paper Seminar

For new and existing account management, sales, estimating and production staff
* IPIA Member £99.00 + VAT
* Non Member £209.00 + VAT

Call 0844 902 0214 for details

London College of Communication - Elephant and Castle - London SE1 6SB
The School of Printing and Publishing at the London College of Communication (formerly London College of Printing) is one of the world's leaders in education for the printing industry. For over a century the school has excelled in producing hundreds of distinguished printers. This event is a great opportunity to explore the current trends in print education and the industry, as well as a chance to say hello to old and new faces.

If you are an alumna or are interested in attending the event, please contact 
Millie Langlands - Email  c.langlands@lcc.arts.ac.uk   Tel 020 7514 6655

http://www.promotionalmarketingexhibition.co.uk

The Promotional Marketing exhibition is the UK's largest exhibition dedicated to all sectors of the promotional marketing industry. Now in its third year, the Promotional Marketing Exhibition, Olympia, 15th-17th April, is an annual showcase for over 200 companies featuring printed promotional products alongside the wider mix of promotional and motivational solutions.

This year for the first time ever the IPIA is taking part in this inportant industry event.
Andrew Pearce, CEO of the IPIA comments, 'The IPIA are at the Promotional Marketing Exhibition with the other Members of the Marketing Association Alliance (BPMA, ISP, The Va, POPAI, and DMA) to promote the value of print as a medium for effectively conveying a marketing message and to help de-mystify print for the visitors. We will be on the Alliance stand to answer any print-related questions the visitors may have'.

The IPIA is also taking part in The Industry Forum which allows suppliers, journalists , buyers and practioners to discuss issues of the day, pass on their expertise and come to understand each other's opinions and objectives for the future. The programme is still being finalised (latest details at  www.promotionalmarketingexhibition.co.uk ) but it already includes panellists from major names, including testing house SGS, The Advertising Association, Coors and EDF Energy, names which are bound to draw intense visitor interest.

The show will feature a number of suppliers of printed promotional products including Promo2u.com, Purple Turtle (PTMC), The Corporate Presence, Tomato Source (winner of the BPMA Best Newcomer Award 2007) and Print Run. IPIA Members who wish to exhibit will enjoy a 5% discount on the stand price.

The exhibition organisers are offering a personal incentive to visitors who pre-register for, and attend the show. They will receive a voucher for 2 return flights to one of six European cities.

Take a hot desk on a cold winter's day!
If you are passing Stafford on the M6, or just travelling nearby...
a warm welcome awaits IPIA Members at our new Head Office
Unit 9, Business Innovation Centre,
Staffordshire Technology Park,
Beaconside,
Stafford ST18 0AR

We are just 10 mins from Junction 14 of the M6 and close by the A518 and A34

FREE Hot Desk facility with FREE tea or coffee and biscuits

Available Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm.
To book your FREE Hot Desk please call 0844 9020214

As the fifth largest UK employer, Print makes a sizeable contribution to the UK economy. In 2004 the industry created £16.475 billion in gross value added (GVA), with the top five print companies turning over an estimated £2.5 billion per year. Yet with global competition, advances in technology and the continuous capital investment requirements, many businesses are feeling the pressure, cutting marketing and training budgets, scaling back production or worse still closing their doors forever.

So how can the industry now equip itself to respond to these market forces and strengthen its trading position? According to the Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA), forward thinking businesses are continuing to invest in training and development, as a way to achieve competitive advantage. IPIA Chief Executive (Designate) Andrew Pearce explains; “We all understand the need to invest in equipment and technology as part of a successful business model, yet often once installed these items remain under utilised through lack of sales or availability of suitable production personnel.”

Andrew continues “In the coming years to create a competitive edge, organisations in the UK print industry need to further embrace training. For example, when installing new equipment, we need to think beyond just operator training, and ensure budget is available to train the sales team to promote the full range of products the equipment can deliver. Training all levels of our workforce to be proactive, multi skilled and knowledgeable is vital. In doing so, we improve efficiency, reduce wastage, maximise customer retention, create new sales opportunities and above all increase the overall profitability of the organisation”.  

According to a recent survey by the IPIA, Andrew’s thoughts on training are shared by a large number of IPIA members, with 86% of those polled stating that they had attended training, education and seminar programs or planned to attend in the next twelve months.

To support the industry with people development the IPIA offers a comprehensive program of cost effective short training courses. From practical sessions on commercial colour printing through to specifying and business development, all IPIA courses can be delivered on site or from an elected training centre. The courses are open to members and non-members, and benefit from industry specific trainers and comprehensive course materials.

To find out how training and development could make a positive contribution to your business click here to view course information or call the IPIA direct on 01509 600242.

An innovative service that transforms a PDF into an interactive online document was launched at the recent Print for Business Exhibition, organised by the IPIA.   The Print to Digital product is set to revolutionise the way brochures, catalogues, directories, reports and many other media formats are translated into a web based user-friendly tool. George Yates, Managing Director of Print to Digital, comments: “The basic idea of this new product is that it brings alive the printed version in a very low cost way and is turned around extremely quickly so that clients can have their online brochure live and visible even before the printed version has left the press.” Print to Digital uses unique software that takes a high resolution PDF and re-produces it in a book format that makes it easy to navigate and interact with the user.

George continues: “PDF’s on websites have limited functionality and don’t replicate the impact of the printed medium.  The Print to Digital product not only allows the user to view text in a familiar book format but also can incorporate audio clips, embedded videos, web and email links and multi lingual variations.  It allows the client to integrate the printed image into their website but still retain, and enhance, the impact of the printed version.”

As an IPIA member, the Print to Digital product is already up and running within the IPIA.  The IPIA member’s handbook, traditionally a hard copy publication, is now being produced in the new digital format, alongside the paper version.  Andrew Pearce, Chief Executive (Designate) at the IPIA comments: “The members handbook is a brilliant example of the advantages of this new product.  It constantly needs updating, it has various categories to navigate around, and members can now have live links to their websites from the handbook.  We’ve been so impressed by the Print to Digital service that the IPIA has used the service for the Print for Business after show brochure and our magazine, Innovation in Print, will be the next publication to benefit.”

For the print manager or print broker, the Print to Digital service can be a straightforward extension to a client’s existing portfolio.  George Yates has already experienced this benefit from a number of customers: “This is a dream value-added product for a print manager or broker to sell to existing customers.  Clients are already spending money on the design and print of materials and often uploading them as PDF’s to their websites.  This product takes it one step further at very little extra cost and gives the client a much greater return on his printed investment.”

Matt Harrison, Technical Director, has been adding new features to the product since its launch: “As we gain momentum with the product we have been asked to add features for specific clients and as we have developed the software ourselves this is something we can accommodate for clients.”

For further information contact George Yates at Print to Digital on Tel: 0161 929 5853 Email: gyates@printtodigital.com  or visit www.printtodigital.com.  View the Member''s Handbook here.

IPIA members, The Print Management Group have been celebrating this month, following the announcement that it’s two companies; Proof and Print Limited and Wentworth Business Services Limited have achieved the Investors in People Standard. “Achieving Investors in People is a fantastic and very important achievement for a company of our size” said Mike Roberts, Group Managing Director. “In the past three years we have acquired, merged and expanded the companies almost beyond recognition. Yet despite all these changes, our team of people have remained focused and committed to our business, of supplying and managing printed materials.”

Mike continues; “The Investors in People process has provided a mechanism to document many of the activities we practiced informally. The culture fostered when working towards this accreditation is now evident amongst our teams. Through continually supporting our staff we can now ensure we retain the high standards we set ourselves”.

During the recent Investors in People inspection the team at The Print Management Group was praised for their “clear vision for the company”, its “comprehensive review structure” and “providing development opportunities for people based upon individual learning style and ambition, rather than a one size fits all mentality”. 

The Investors in People Standard sets a level of good practice for training and development of people to achieve business goals. The assessment process focuses the company on ensuring people are motivated and trained to deliver the organisation’s needs. Once awarded, Investors in People is reviewed at least every three years, encouraging a culture of continuous improvement.

For more information on The Print Management Group please contact: Mike Roberts on 01924 284330.

Cardiff based print management company Abba Print Group has completed a double corporate makeover combining a re-branding exercise with a move to new custom built offices. The icom management  team outside their new custom built offices at Cardiff Gate''  L-R: Don Reed - Group Financial Director, Brian George - Manager of icom creative, Dave Baker - Group Managing Director, Jackie Matthews; Alastair Pemberton; Tony Marshall - Business Managers of icom Print Management.

From November 13th the group (members of the IPIA) will simply be known as icom - an abbreviation of intelligent communication.   The names of the original three business divisions, Abba Print, Avid Design and Adco Publishing will still reflect the three core competencies of the group:

Specialist Print (Icom Print Management)
Design (Icom Creative)
Workplace Media Solutions (Icom Workplace)

David Baker, Group Managing Director comments: “We have achieved steady organic growth since our inception in 1990.  Our evolution from the old broker model dealing in business forms to an innovative £3 million turnover media solutions provider is testimony to our different approach to business.”

“The re-brand and move is symbolic of our progress and future aspirations in our marketplace and positions us perfectly to step up to another level of growth.  We continue to invest strongly in our core values of people, technology and product development aligned with our UK vertical markets of Healthcare, Membership and Workplace.”

For more information go to www.icomworks.co.uk

In the autumn of 2005, the IPIA launched Talk & Tell, a free press release writing and circulation service for its Members. The Association has decided to carry out a 12 month review to discover what the service has achieved.

To date over 50 members have registered for Talk & Tell with 68% of these currently utilising the service. The IPIA now issues articles to the trade press on a weekly basis. This regular contact has allowed relationships to form, and a database to be built, with over a hundred media contacts at printing, packaging, marketing and associated magazines.

A recent review of press clippings indicates that if members had paid for the advertising generated by Talk & Tell, the cost would have been in the region of £25,000, this represents staggering value for members. What’s more the team have secured a comment column within ‘Print Monthly’ which enables the IPIA to have its say on industry issues and to promote IPIA benefits and services, as well as its Membership base.

If you would like to register for the Talk & Tell service or would like to suggest a topic for inclusion in the ‘Print Monthly’ column please contact Andrew Pearce on 01509 600242 or email Andrew@ipia.org.uk.