This article was written by Nick Martindale, a business journalist who writes for national media and trade titles. It contains interesting comments from leading industry figures including: Tim Bowler, director of the National Association of Paper Merchants; Kathy Woodward, BPIF Chief Executive; Sydney Bobb, chairman of BAPC and Martyn Eustace, director of Two Sides.

 

"Customer demands for lower volumes and more personalised communications – as well as tighter turnarounds – are also playing into the hands of local printing", says Martyn Eustace. “People don’t want to print 20,000 books any more – they will print one if necessary – so the big chunky orders that used to go overseas are coming back,” he says. “The cost of having remains of stock and out-of-date supplies is far greater than having somebody locally who can do a very good job very quickly.”

 

“Putting words on paper has meant everything to the civilised world, from the Dead Sea scrolls right up to the Ikea catalogue,” says the National Association of Paper Merchants’ Bowler. “It’s certainly not going to go away overnight.”