Flicking through this week’s PrintWeek, it struck me that despite our industry struggling in some areas, there is such a lot for us to be proud of.
Take Wapping, where I was lucky enough to spend last Saturday night watching the last-ever print run. It was, as Adam Hooker writes in today’s magazine, an emotional evening. But the story of Wapping, and in particular the recent investment by News International in its brand new print plants, reminds us that printing in the UK is an enormously important industry. For those readers in smaller companies or who are feeling the daily grind getting to them, it’s not a bad thing to remember that they are part of something special.
Equally, Helen Morris’s story on page 4 of today’s magazine highlights supermarket giant Asda’s decision to launch a big new catalogue. Anyone who thought the internet would dominate home shopping by 2008 was clearly wrong; on the contrary, the big supermarkets are falling over themselves to put ink on paper.
Then there’s Vinalith, the firm in Kent which has produced a wonderful 3D front cover for the film magazine Empire. We’ve seen an advance copy and it really is something special. And, as far as we know, it’s a world first, which is even better.
Finally, congratulations are due to Leach Colour and the Pureprint Group, who have both received Queens Awards for Enterprise. A few printers and suppliers are named in this every year, but it’s a great fillip to the industry to know that print is not invisible to the outside world.
So in spite of the industry’s occasional difficulties, don’t despair – remember that we’re all part of something exciting and there really is a lot to celebrate.