With 2016 drawing to a close, we look back on what has been an exciting and dynamic year in the printing industry.

The year kicked off as a difficult period for the Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA), with Board resignations, multiple staff departures, state offices closing, arguments over heritage items, and conflicts at the top.

Calm heads eventually prevailed as CEO Jason Allen left and was replaced by industry outsider Andrew Macaulay in April, with Macaulay later engaging with Parliament to address several issues currently facing the industry.

In June, thousands of Aussie printers made the pilgrimage to Dusseldorf, Germany for drupa 2016, joining some 300,000 printers from all over the world to witness the latest trends and technology.

Humanless printing, digital packaging, inkjet printing, cloud computing, and hybrid presses were central to drupa 2016, all of which promises to enable printers to either slash costs or open up new opportunities.

Throughout the year the industry was not unscathed by controversy and was rocked by the collapse of several major print outfits such as Longbeach Printing, Five Star Print, On Demand and The Printcentre.

In October, PIAA members had their say by voting in a new-look board consisting of Ron Patterson (VIC), Peter Clarke (TAS), Walter Kuhn (QLD), Matt Aitken (NSW), Peter Lane (SA), Graham Jamieson (WA), and current PIAA president May (ACT) which forms on January 1.

The print giants also made the headlines in late 2016, with tough market conditions forcing PMP and IPMG into an impending merger, oOh!media and APN Outdoor joining forces to become one mammoth outdoor company, and IVE Group acquiring AIW Printing and Franklin Web.

It has been an exciting year in print and 2017 promises to be even better. 

The AP team wishes you all a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

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