So listening to Jim Lewcock, founder and chief executive of leading agency The Specialist Works, wax lyrical on the effectiveness of print, when so many of his peers can barely manage to say the ‘p-word’ at all, was a refreshing experience to say the least.

If there’s one thing we’re very good at it’s talking the industry down. There’s no denying it’s still a tough marketplace, but as Lewcock highlights print has plenty to shout about. Not least, in the right hands, its unrivalled effectiveness as a marketing medium.

Then there’s the technology and application driven innovation that was on show in Switzerland and the, only slightly less glamorous, Birmingham last month at Hunkeler Innovationdays and Packaging Innovations respectively.

Both events boasted record-breaking attendance figures, clearly indicating that visitors were hungry to identify new opportunities for their businesses. And the early indications are that this month’s Sign & Digital UK at the NEC and the flagship Fespa in Cologne, Germany in May will be no less inspiring.

So rather than get bogged down in the challenges lets focus on the opportunities, and tear a leaf out of Lewcock’s book (Blue Ocean Strategy, by W Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne if you were wondering) and start talking about print as a marketing decision and not just a procurement decision.

Because if we do that then who knows, perhaps we’ll be able to unleash the Miles Davis in all of us.