The world being the way it is, we don't tend to find many articles in the mainstream media talking about print in a terribly positive way. They generally tend to be of the 'old media, death of the book, dead trees smeared with ink' sort of tone.

How refreshing, then to see the current issue of The Economist featuring printing on its front cover no less, with a leader about 'the manufacturing technology of the future that will change the world'.

Okay, so they're not talking about commercial print as we know it, they're referencing the cutting-edge world of 3D printing.

One could argue that 3D printing has about as much in common with the type of printing most PrintWeek readers are engaged with as, say, Silvio Berlusconi has with a Benedictine Monk.

However, it would be daft to pass up an opportunity to ride on the positive draft being created by someone else's coattails. Commercial printing has many dimensions of its own. It can be incredibly clever and innovative, and we know it's effective. With one form of print hitting the headlines now is as good a time as any to make some noise about that.