Officially changing name in August, Print Scotland, which refers to itself as Scotland’s leading trade association for the printing industry, is looking to add to its 45-strong membership by 10 to 15 members per year, having picked up eight new members so far in 2017.

“The branding was all driven by the feeling that the name GES didn’t really resonate with the print industry,” said director Garry Richmond. 

“You can’t get simpler than Print Scotland; it really does what it says on the tin. We hope to represent the interests of the Scottish print community by lobbying the Scottish government in terms of frameworks and any print awards from the procurement side and just generally do our best for anyone involved in printing in Scotland.” 

Kevin Creechan, Print Scotland president, and managing director of Glasgow-based commercial printer J Thomson Colour Printers, said that the collective benefits the newly reformed body would be able to bring its members, including an official courier agreement and HR support, would “swell our membership numbers and give us a stronger voice”.

Richmond added that the body would now place more emphasis in driving modern apprenticeship schemes, highlighting concerns at “print succession gaps” that have been identified for around 2020. Its annual apprentice awards will be renamed the Print Scotland Apprentice Awards and will next take place in April 2018, with Bell & Bain's Ross Docherty scooping last year's main prize. PrintWeek reported earlier this week on falling apprenticeship take-ups following the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April.

“We need to be trying to bring more new blood to the industry so will be promoting at recruitment fairs in schools, trying to entice young people into the printing industry, which isn’t the first choice these days,” said Richmond. 

Last month, PrintWeek reported on the extra challenges facing printers in the devolved nations.