Never mind the bollocks, here’s print

After last Monday’s PrintWeek Awards, it’s difficult to have anything other than warm and fuzzy feelings about the world of print – once the post-celebration headaches and queasiness pass, of course.

That’s partly down to seeing 850-plus industry faces aching from smiling so much, not to mention the Award winners themselves proudly parading the Grosvenor’s Great Room with their coveted trophies, but also thanks to impassioned speech by the Awards host, Gyles Brandreth.

While it’s impossible to do the erudite Brandreth justice in the space allowed here; for those of you that missed the big night, the short version is: ‘a lot of people seem to think print is dead, but they’re talking bollocks’.

He then went on to way lyrical about the power of print, its physical qualities and how it resonates with people in a way no other media can.

It’s fair to say that he knew he was preaching to the converted, but even so, the rapturous response – a standing ovation no less – was something to behold.

It also served as a timely reminder, at a time when organisations like JCDecaux and Emap are inching away from print, that the industry remains an important feature in the ever-evolving media landscape.

That’s not to say that we can take anything for granted. However, no-one could claim that print isn’t is evolving, and with the rapid pace of technological and structural change in the sector there’s a strong argument that print is evolving as fast, if not faster, than the world around it. And with Drupa looming large next year, that rate of change is only going to spike in the foreseeable future.

Which will hopefully mean a lot less people will feel the need to talk misguided bollocks.