I’ve just attended the BAPC’s annual conference where it’s got to be said the printer turnout was abysmal – not that it was any great surprise to find so few PSPs felt it worthwhile to offer up a Saturday in lieu of valuable business advice and a great networking social occasion. It’s how print is – we’ve all been to embarrassingly badly attended events where the turnout in no way reflected the quality of the content. What a wasted opportunity. Is it that printers don’t believe the oft seminar focus of strategic management issues has any relevance to their operation? It makes you wonder. There was a rather telling moment at the BAPC conference when a speaker asked the audience (of 100+) for a show of hands from those that had read any of three key management tomes he mentioned – let’s just say the response was minimal.

As a panellist of the recent Image Round Table printer discussion pointed out when asked if the print sector has good enough managers - those running companies still in business must be doing something right! They obviously are. But have they gone as far as they can go? Although there’s a new generation of entrepreneur’s springing up in wide-format there is still a great swathe of players whose background is in production rather than management. In this instance is it a comfort zone thing? Do they shy away from that which they’re not too familiar with? 

As the communications landscape changes out of all recognition, managers of PSPs are going to have to adapt to new conditions – and to do so many are going to have to change their business set-up and mind-set. And use the facilities offered them to help them do so…