Join us as we discuss how being part of the community can have an important and strategic impact on your business.

Guest: Charles Rogers,  Managing Director of Portland Media and Chairman of the IPIA. 

In the final episode of series 2, we welcome Charles Rogers from Portland Media, who is a strong advocate for not only the industry as a Chairman of the IPIA; but a long standing business owner, a believer in the craft, the creativity and the community in print.  Tune in to discover: 

• How Charles used print community forums to learn, network and grow his business over the last 40+ years of his career
• What advise Charles would give to any print business leader when it comes to always being up-to-date with technology 
• IPIA's work done lobbying No.10. and why its important that everyone gets involved.  

You may also be interested in:

• Community: become a member of the IPIA 
• eBook: Be a Print Champion - winning strategies for print industry
• Trade show: Visit us at Drupa 2024 to discover the latest technology innovations

Learn  how The Printing Charity provides practical, emotional and financial support to those who work, have worked, or are retired from our great industry. 

Guest: Neil Lovell, Chief Executive of The Printing Charity 

In this episode, we welcome Neil Lovell from the Printing Charity, an organisation dedicated to supporting people working in the print sector and looking after their wellbeing. Under Neil’s leadership, the charity works to make a positive difference in people’s lives by providing practical, emotional and financial support; and championing emerging talent. The charity’s free, confidential helpline is already there for over 26,000 people in our industry, and their main goal for 2024 is to continue to expand this reach and help more individuals. Listen to the inspiring chat to discover: 

• How the Printing Charity has been championing people in print for generations
• What initiatives are making the difference and what is available to those in need of support 
• How to get involved to help raise awareness or reach out for help

You may also be interested in:

• “The Printing Charity: the ways we’re here for you” document
• The ‘Rising Stars’ programme 
• eBook: Be a Print Champion - winning strategies for print industry

Discover his award-winning approach with Green Gift Cards; an innovation that is revolutionising the market by reducing plastic waste.

Guest: Graham Lycett, Managing Director of Jellyfish Livewire marketing agency & Green Gift Cards.

Join us as we chat to Graham Lycett, MD of Jellyfish Livewire marketing agency & Green Gift Cards who is championing print and driving innovation in a niche gift card market. With his unrivaled passion for sustainability he is not only revolutionist the sector via helping big retail brands to stay true to their ESG goals but at the same time Graham is making the industry less reliant on an old energy intensive process which creates a lot of waste. In this episode you will discover:

• Why Green Cards are chosen by more and more big retail names and how digital print contributes to this
• How Graham has created a business niche in a market that is very much reliant on an old, industrial manufacturing process  
• What it takes to innovate and co-create and why it's crucial to have the right technology partner on your side.

You may also be interested in:

• Graham's Whitepaper: One simple change retailers can implement today to help tackle the issue of single and limited use plastics.
• Latest Ricoh report:  The Automation Gap: Attitudes Versus Adoption in the Print Industry 
• eBook: Be a Print Champion - winning strategies for print industry

Discover exactly what it takes to gain a leadership position in the highly competitive Customer Communication Market (CCM) 

Guest:  Ben Haynes, Director of Operations at Adare SEC

In the 7th episode, we welcome  Ben Haynes,  at Adare SEC  who via his leadership has been driving continuous improvement activities across the business. This approach is adding a tremendous amount of value to the organisation which is now one of the  top tier CCM service provider in the UK.  Listen in to learn:

1. Why Adare SEC is leading with customer first approach
2. How Adare SEC is dealing with various challenges facing them as a business 
3. The four key themes shaping Adare SEC’s future goals: regulation, risk & compliance, digitisation and sustainability

You may also be interested in:

•  The Automation Gap report
• Communication Cut-through report

Join us as we discuss all things Sign & Digital . 

Guest: Craig Brown, CEO  at ISA - International Sign Association UK

We welcome Craig Brown, CEO of the ISA - UK, who has over 30 years industry experience, has run his own signage businesses and now leads the UK division of the International Sign Association.  In this podcast we do like to discuss key verticals & opportunities and in our view, sign & display market is definitely one of them.  As it happens, Sign & Digital Show concluded a few weeks ago and  ISA took part in some of it's featured sessions. This episode will leave you with: 

• A little recap on the show and Craig's personal view on how it went
• What support is available to you and the aim of  ISA - UK as an industry association 
• How to take advantage of the opportunities in the sign sector

You may also be interested in: 

• Ricoh blog:  your complimentary insights around signage technology
• Sustainability strategy: our long term approach 
• eBook: how to succeed in 2023

How the world’s largest online network of women in the printing industry empowers change.
 
Guest: Deborah Corn at Print Media Centr & Girls Who Print 

Join us as we celebrate the International Women’s Day and look at the role of women in the print industry.  In this episode we are joined by Deborah Corn from Girls Who Print to discuss practical advice for women in the print industry as well as print businesses wanting to improve diversity in their teams. The podcast also shines a light on the power of: 

• Cross-training: examining your existing workforce and offering opportunities to learn new skills. 
• Communicating to your teams: How to make diversity and inclusion part of your strategic objectives and not a tick box exercise. 
• Authenticity in your approach to diversity and inclusion, and how that translates into better business outcomes, especially when working with print buyers belonging to Gen Z.

You may also be interested in: 

• Get involved: Girls Who Print Mentorship Program
• Promote yourself: 5th Annual Women’s Print HERstory Month
• Ricoh insights:  Diversity is a key driver of print innovation – here’s why

Join us as we look back at the print industry in 2022 and how it is likely to change in 2023.

Guest:  Brendan Perring, General Manager at IPIA

As we wave goodbye to 2022, it's time to reflect on and consider the major trends in the print industry, what’s driving them and how to make a success in this ever evolving marketplace. What is the best practice and what can an average print business do to grow business in 2023? 

In this episode we welcome Brendan Perring, General Manager at Independent Print Industries Association - an organisation committed to serving and protecting the interests of print as well as connecting our industry with the associate ones like creative and design industries. IPIA are definitely Champions of Print and can support you with: 

• Ways to navigate the frequent changes in the industry, how to diversify and/or pivot
• Ideas around new markets, applications and strategies that are worth considering right now
• Networking, collaborations with suppliers and other printers and building personal interactions with customers, which are key. 

You may also be interested in: 

• On demand learning: How to do More with Less! - Morning Session in association with the IPIA
• On demand learning: How to do More with Less! - Afternoon Session in association with the IPIA
• E-book: How to grow your print business - Start your plan now! 

How the UK’s leading digital and print communications provider is using a joined-up approach to transform customer journeys and improve team satisfaction, as well as drive the sustainability message.

Guest: Sue Evren, Site Director of Tewkesbury and Bristol at Paragon Customer Communications 

As we often look up to the biggest print businesses in the UK, we also often wonder how operations like these manage their complexity, different customer requirements and keep their services consistent across their production sites. It's not an easy task and it comes with its own set of challenges, but also opportunities. 

This podcast series is about the Champions of Print - the people in our industry who are innovative, forward thinking and bold in a marketplace that  never stops evolvingIn and in this episode we chat to Sue Evren, who is an inspirational leader at Paragon Customer Communications, leading her part of the business to success. Listen as she gives her view on: 

• How the company manages its culture given the scale of their operations, acquisitions and growth over the years
• Changing customer demands and how Paragon constantly improves on customer experience  
• What activities Paragon put in place to improve team engagement and successfully drive their sustainability message.

You may also be interested in: 

• Why sustainability is a smart business approach in print. 
• Digital transformation is reshaping business - what it means for print.
• My Paragon is growth...

Discover how this brand leader is combining innovation and operations to power personalisation and customer engagement.

Guest: Cara Walker & Christina McMinn, at Communisis.

There are business leaders within the industry who are bold, innovative and best embody the new mindset needed to succeed in the ever changing print industry. The Champions of Print, as we call them, are not only incredibly inspirational in a way they lead their business to success but also have the confidence to be optimistic, collaborative and forward thinking while they deal with industry pressures. It’s not an easy and rather demanding job as our market will never stop evolving. 

In this episode we chat to two special ladies who have been shaping the success of Communisis - Cara Walker, Executive Director of Digital Solutions; and Christina McMinn, Executive Director of  Manufacturing and Logistics. Listen in as they explain:

• How the innovation and operations need to go hand in had to 
• Changing customer demands and how Communisis is transforming to address them 
• That it's all about traceable results and what works and not one channel of communication over another
• How Communisis sees real strategic partnerships and would not accept anything less 

Get ahead of the game with the latest in print and how to make a success of new markets!

The shape of the UK printing industry is constantly changing, although the rate of this change - and the extent of it - is different in various sectors. It's often referred to as a barometer for economic stability. This makes it a very interesting and appealing sector to the people who are passionate about print, but is it as appealing on the outside? Is the evolving landscape easy enough to navigate for an average print organisation and why - and how - do they keep going? What business support is available for those willing to transform and take advantage of the opportunities? 

In the first episode of series 2, we chat to a great champion of print,  Charles Jarrold, CEO of the BPIF, who gives his view on:

• the industry health and challenges
• the ‘hottest’ verticals to be involved in and…
• why this business is about relationships and the journey and not the transaction