Boyle (pictured), who had been a national board member for the past year and Mainland executive member for the past five years, said one of his main motivations was to provide a “voice” for independent printers.

“The groups are a big part of the market, but over 80% of PrintNZ members are private owner-operators,” he told ProPrint.

“I also do have a passion for the industry. I like what the industry does and what we do as a company.

“The focus over the next eight months to two years will be on promoting the industry as a whole, promoting the ‘Part of Life’ campaign that PrintNZ is launching and making sure the industry is in good stead going forward,” he added.

Leslie, who had held the presidency for seven years, welcomed the arrival of “new blood”.

He said some of his most satisfying moments had been seeing the organisation grow from about 200 to 700 members, the successful re-emergence of the annual conference and being involved in the 100 years celebration.

Leslie, who will remain on the national board for another year, also expressed appreciation for the contribution of his team.

In other PrintNZ developments, three keynote speakers have now been announced for the conference in Wairakei on October 11-13 – Infotrends’ Barb Pellow, Eco Logical Strategies’ Philip Lawrence and Infometrics’ Garth Kiernan.

Additionally, the branch winners of the PrintNZ Training Apprentice Awards for 2009 have been confirmed as:

Binding and Finishing Award Daniel Burns (Rainbow Print)
Digital Processes for Print Award Rebecca Fraser (Otago Daily Times Print)
Fibreboard Packaging Award Jason Sim (Amcor Cartons Australasia)
Screen Award Cory Pollard (John Colours)
Sheet-fed Award Mitchell Tomai (Logick Print & Graphics)
Reel-fed Award Angelo Gedult (APN Print)
National Certificate Trainee Award Arvin San Victores (Amcor Kiwi Packaging Case Division)

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