Part of the manufacturer's broader 'Discover Your Potential' open house event, the round table featured print leaders and representatives from the IPIA, BPIF, The Printing Charity and industry sustainability service provider CarbonQuota. The main discussion topic was how the industry can get to grips with the challenging task of educating people outside the industry on its potential.

“We’re trying to do our bit to ensure the industry survives and thrives. We need to start coming together, both as manufacturers of [print] technology and users of that technology, to address the challenges we face,” said Jon Hiscock, head of Konica Minolta’s UK professional print business, introducing the session.

Brendan Perring, general manager of the IPIA, chaired the discussion, which centred around the association’s ‘New Narrative for Print’ white paper and market research.

Using “groundbreaking digital data acquisition and analysis technology” from a leading data marketing firm – which Perring compared to a “law-abiding Cambridge Analytica” – the IPIA has identified key areas where print can shift public perception.

These include print’s extremely high trust score compared to digital media, its ability to elicit a strong emotional response, unlike other media, and its strong sustainability story compared to other manufacturing industries.

A key topic up for discussion was how the industry might be able to push these positive messages to young generations with little exposure to the industry.

“Worse than having a negative perception of the industry,” Perring pointed out, “we’re simply not on the map for Gen Z.

“Because we were dominant for so long, we have never had to market ourselves – why would we? [Print] was like turning the lights on, or turning a tap. People just accepted that print was absolutely vital to their lives.

“But if you look at a digital product, whether social media, email, web browsers – their entire DNA is based on having had to fight tooth and nail to get that technology to be accepted by consumers. It’s still not part of our DNA.”

And while there is an obvious gap in the young public’s knowledge of print, the table agreed that this ignorance represented an opportunity for print to push its positive message without being weighed down by preconceptions of older generations that associate the medium with dying newsbrands.

Mark Ash, Konica Minolta’s chief revenue officer, agreed, mentioning the firm’s experience hosting schoolchildren the day before the discussion as part of a Young People In Print initiative.

“We found yesterday that you have kids that have never even contemplated print before,” he said.

“But they see the value in it, and trust it. Because we’ve seen so much print in our lives, it’s like [our generation is] blind to print. They’re blind to digital, and that’s the perfect opportunity for us.”

Given the struggle to reach younger audiences, print’s struggle with an ageing workforce also came up. 

Lance Hill, managing director of direct mail firm Eight Group, suggested the industry needed some way to publicise the rungs on the print career ladder – as there were simply too few young people who understood it could be a career.

“I’m very passionate about it: we need to get in there, and publicise case studies,” he said.

“I think the Printing Charity sets a great example with its Rising Star awards, but we need to get the word out more.”

Darren Shepherd, head of membership at the BPIF, however, surprised participants with statistics showing that the average age of a print professional – 43 – was just one year older than the average worker.

“That’s still on the high side for sustainability [of the industry] but it’s better than we think. One issue is that we’ve got 98,000 in the industry. But [at the BPIF, one of just two print learning providers in the country] we have 345 learners. 

“That’s 345 apprentices: that ratio is nowhere near sustainable.”

Despite the challenges facing the sector, the discussion found strong cause for hope for the industry.

“There are negatives that we need to overcome,” said Perring, “but if we can get the adoption of print to catch fire [among young people] we know our products work.

“At the moment, we’re winning battles but losing the war. If we can get key influencers to spread that message, and make print a ubiquitous part of each young person’s [market] journey, then we can win."