NB Colour Print chairman and managing director Ken Iddon ? who proposed the motion ?This house believes the printing industry is poorly served by the paper industry, both technically and commercially? with JW Arrowsmith managing director Philip Cave ? also criticised the lack of training in paper awareness for printing industry personnel from merchants.

?The game has been rumbled. The print industry is no longer satisfied with dealing with a masonic paper industry,? said Iddon. He also criticised the lack of notice from merchants over imminent price increases, and the continuation of their dealings with so-called phoenix companies. And, said Iddon, the paper industry had to address the problems of inks failing to dry on sheetfed stock, and the associated costs incurred.

?What we need is more opacity from paper and more transparency from merchants,? he quipped. But Robert Horne chairman Stephen Mason, who opposed the motion in tandem with Stora Enso UK sales director Peter Bothwick, said printing was extremely well serviced by the paper industry, with merchants often holding up to 16,000 stock items. ?Nobody ever quotes for a print job today with the fear of the paper not turning up,? he said.

Mason agreed with Iddon on the issue of phoenix companies, but felt merchants offered excellent training and technical facilities. Iddon?s seconder, Cave, called for every merchant to employ a qualified papermaker who could resolve paper-on-press problems.

He also proposed introducing a ?Treemark? kitemark, to be awarded by printers to merchants for good service, which could be funded by the BPIF?s Print 21 initiative. ?The merchants have an ideal opportunity to be a facilities manager for our industry,? he said.

Bothwick said the merchant sector had evolved dramatically over the past 30 years. In some cases, he claimed, the print industry was actually over-serviced by merchants. Calling for a need for greater communication to discuss issues, he added: ?The question might be: ?How well do we service each other??.?

In response to questions from the floor, both parties agreed that communication should be improved, while Iddon proposed discussions on pricing reviews between merchants and printers, a suggestion agreed to by Mason.

The motion was eventually defeated, with 49 against and only five in favour.

Story by Andy Scott