The focus of the night was the resurgence of embellishment in the printing industry, and the return to craft technologies such as letterpress, embossing, debossing and foiling.

David Wells, president, LIA says, “I learned how to use a printer after printing 100,000 cheques, It takes time to perfect printing. I enjoyed letterpress printing and it’s still a big part of me. Embossing, debossing and foiling are all arts of printing.”

There was a black and white film from the 1960s presented on the importance of printing and how times have changed over the years. James Cryer from JDA recruitment hosted the night, he says, “Back in the day, printers were the ones dictating the price and design of jobs, now it is the other way around and the printer is now begging for jobs.”

Kenneth Beck, owner, Carbon8 says, “It was really interesting and informative and a good opportunity to hear about how others perceive the space and their role in it. It’s good to talk about the industry as we tend to work from within it more than most other print owners.”

The night also featured presentations on graphic design and how designers and printers should work together. Paper engineer Jean Kropper presented her creative paper and book work, she says, “I love creating new forms in paper that intrigue, engage, and help people connect. I have always been working with paper and it really fascinates me, I have even made my own paper. There are thousands of different and creative ways paper can be presented and used.”

Alan Fawcett and his wife Ange presented to the audience their fine letterpress printing foil stamping and embossing work. Fawcett says, “I was the last letterpress apprentice in the 1970s and the only way to do a decent job is using letterpress.”

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