According to IPIA general manager Brendan Perring, the new ‘Lite’ category, which was introduced at the beginning of October, will satisfy growing demand from the broader industry to access IPIA member benefits.

Lite membership enables commercial and client-direct printers a tailored suite of benefits, including access to services such as a legal helpline and HR support, provided by Quest, and credit checking and debt recovery, provided by ICSM.

Businesses with a Lite membership will also receive discounted rates on the IPIA’s training portfolio and its events, including its flagship annual Everything's Possible in Integrated Communications (EPIC) event.

The membership costs £25 per month, including all benefits. It operates on a month-to-month system, meaning members can dip in and out, providing only a month’s notice.

Full membership, which retains certain unique benefits including personalised PR and business support and free editorial in IPIA’s Innovation magazine, costs £85 per month.

Perring, said: “The association is fiercely committed to supporting its membership and championing the print industry and print out to the wider market.

“This activity is as relevant to a printer serving local businesses as it is to the trade suppliers who may offer that company an outsourcing service.

“[The new membership] will give businesses that have never been part of an association the ability to engage and understand the immense value being part of such a network can bring.”

By opening up membership beyond its traditional cadre of trade printers and print managers, the Lite category aligns the not-for-profit origination’s offering closer to trade associations like the BPIF and the BAPC.

The IPIA currently has 141 full members. It hopes to attract around 200 Lite members over the next three years.