 It seems Printech, our key industry show that comes up every 4 years, is off - until 2012. None of the major sponsors being Heidelberg, Agfa, Xerox, Canon etc were willing to front up.
Certainly the organisers, XPO did their very best to make it attractive to both exhibitors and visitors. Like recent print industry shows overseas, much more to see for the print buyer, not just the printer. A major educational event, not just one to view new equipment - One that ensures heaps more visitors.
This educational strategy does pay off. As industry gurus Dr Joe Webb, Frank Romano and Andy Tribute have all noted, major industry events are a terrific opportunity to show where print fits in the marketing mix. It didn't matter 4 years ago. It does now. Too many of our print customers are needlessly migrating their marketing spend online. Shows of this nature can help provide a balanced view. But events like this (albeit smaller) need to be held annually, not every 6 years!
Certainly Pride in Print, as well as marketers, publishers and media consultants I spoke with were all keen to participate in Printech as exhibitors, speakers and/or educators. Likely we would have had many more print buyers turning up than Printers. This is good. Sadly, the commercial reality is that shows of this scale do require a minimum number of major exhibitors to be viable financially.
Lost Opportunities, Lost Sales
The golden industry marketing opportunity for the year has gone - It will be printers and the local industry that will suffer as a result. Millions in lost revenue and new business. Some said Printech 2010 was the industry's best chance to revive, just when we needed it most. A chance to not just talk about, but actually show corporate and small business print buyers the best, most innovative developments around Digital Print, substrates and finishing, as well as amazing Web2print, transpromo and cross-media toolsets to boost sales.
It wasn't just suppliers on show either, but room was being set aside for innovative printers to show off their wares and skills. A superb idea, one that gives individual printers amazing exposure and profile they could never achieve alone.
Market Education - Who Does it?
Should it be our suppliers or XPO's sole responsibility to provide shows and forums to educate the marketplace? To help promote the true value of print. Surely industry organisations like PrintNZ (www.printnz.co.nz) need to step up here and take some responsibility for market education.
What's disturbing, is that PrintNZ actively campaigned against this show! Although costs are a factor, without PrintNZ blessing, Printech 2010 never had a chance.
Personally, I'm very angry, agreeing with Andy Tribute, that
print industry organisations need to take a far more proactive, positive role in promoting print, either themselves, or in this case, by supporting others
There's a bigger concern here. Do we really want our own industry organisations, regardless of their own personal views or figures, deliberately sabotaging commercially run industry shows like this? One that certainly would have helped many of it's own members. We're lucky this fiasco happened in little NZ. Elsewhere, it could have ended up in the courts. It might still.
What's also weird is that PrintNZ apparently has an expensive promotional campaign planned, due for mid-year release. Logically Printech, with its similar theme and time-frame would have been the ideal place to kick it off! As any marketing student will tell you, there's nothing like a big show and all the free PR that goes with it, to boost results. And the PrintNZ initiatives could have easily been co-ordinated to drive thousands more to Printech! A true win-win.
It's a mess - Where's the leadership?
Are PrintNZ looking after their members best interests? All their resources should have been in behind XPO, encouraging exhibitors to make Printech 2010 happen, using the revised format and consumer focus. The industry benefits would have been huge. Remember, this is not a re-run of Printech 2006, but something new and exciting. Instead, PrintNZ generated arguments and negativity. It's a disgrace.
 Where to from here? Perhaps now is the time for a new organisation to arise. Let PrintNZ carry on looking after the employment, training, health and safety issues. But obviously someone else needs to be charged with our industry growth, promotion and direction. Already there's talk of regional printing guilds being re-established to take up the cause and fill the void.
Better still, maybe XPO would be interested? They at least have the resources, expertise and passion. If you like this idea, then email
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Kevin Trye, Industry Commentator
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Related industry links, articles below
Printech show press release here
Andy Tribute Commentary
PrintNZ Champions campaign
Background, claim, counter-claim
Kiwi Outrage over Printech - Print21
Heidelberg, Komori Pass At GraphExpo
Tradeshows today - Digital now bigger than offset
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