Print Promotion – a joint venture developed in the 1970s between VDMA and German printing manufacturers, is holding its first conference in Australia this week.
The conference, 'Spotlight on Printing and Packaging Media Technology', was held over two days in Melbourne and Sydney featuring presentations from Print Promotion members including IST, H.C. Moog, Heidelberg, Polar Mohr, Kolbus and Leonhard Kurz.
Print Promotion managing director, Dr Markus Heering, said the group works with the global printing community as one market and it is seeking a stronger presence in the Australian market.
Heering says, "We have never visited the Australian market before. We should be here as it is an important market for us and we would like to deliver trends and state of the art developments to the Australian printing industry to show what is necessary to have global competitiveness. We are happy with the attendance in Melbourne and Sydney and all of the attendees have been interested in the presentations."
Heering said there are distinct differences between the European market and the Australian market.
"You cannot compare the Australian market with Europe – as you have considerable geographic distances and your print volumes are smaller," he said.
"I know that education is also a problem here – as you have issues with identifying printing educators and you also have less opportunity educating existing printers.
[Related: Find your niche]
"We have spoken with Andrew Macaulay from the PIAA about the opportunity to offer an education program together and support the Australian association in developing an adequate education program.
"At this stage it is just an idea, but we can visit Australia twice per year and deliver education with our trainers. We can also invite Australians to come to Germany for four-week education seminars that covers everything from pre-press to finishing, from theory to practice in combination with the manufacturers. During this four week seminar, we have the opportunity to visit newspaper printer, print shops and web to print.
"Within this course, there are up to 15 participants from the same country to deliver a streamlined experience. We also offer an international course focusing on trainers where the participation is sponsored and one participant is invited to attend from each country and only travel costs are required – all other costs are covered. The next international course will be held from June to July 2019 and applications will be open at the end of this year.
"Our overall message is that education is an endless story and it is not enough to be up to date just the once. You always have to be trained in the new opportunities and developments in the market. This is a must for printers, trainers and teachers everywhere in the world."
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter