Pettaras, Beaver, Worldwide, Paragon, The Printing Department. Nothing more needs to be said: these names alone sum up the vibe in the printing industry over the past couple of months.
For a month that kicked off with the National Print Awards, there wasn’t a lot to celebrate in April. Administration, liquidation, receivership, I feel like I’ve become au fait with the ins and outs of all manner of financial collapse.
Perhaps I should become an administrator. Clearly there’s a buck in it, especially in times like these. In fact, it seems there might be too much of a buck – the issue of administrators’ and liquidators’ fees is currently the subject of a Senate Inquiry.
Australian satirist John Clarke once remarked that being a dentist must be terrible, because you spend all your day seeing people who don’t want to see you. I suppose administrators are the same. But even though the dentist might sting your wallet, you can be pretty certain he’ll fix the rot. With administrators, there are no such certainties.
Sometimes being a ProPrint journo comes close to Clarke’s comparison. When a company sails into troubled waters, the last thing they want is a call from a reporter. More than a few times I’ve had to call people who have lost more than just a pot of cash, but their livelihoods. It doesn’t make for pleasant phone banter, I can tell you. But I’m not whingeing – any lack of comfort for me pales in comparison to the dashed hopes on the other end of the phone.
Anyone who has driven past an accident scene knows that even though nobody hopes for more car crashes, everyone slows down to look. The huge boost in traffic on our website confirms what many would guess – there’s no news like bad news. People always want to know (and in many cases, have a right to know) what’s going on, which is what spurs me to pick up the phone in the first place.
Perhaps, though, you don’t see all these company closures as bad news. The recent turmoil could be seen as a perfect storm that will rid the market of its overcapacity. The fewer piranhas in the tank, the better, so to speak.
Is it a case of Economic Darwinism? The survival of the fittest would be good for the industry in the long run. Many would be happy to see those print companies that constantly undercut the market go the way of the dodo. But is it just the weakest companies on the endangered species list? The comments surrounding the Pettaras collapse seem to contravene the theory we are only seeing the dregs of the industry cast off.
Clearly this was a well-regarded printing company, one which had regularly won plaudits for its printing craft, and many expressed disbelief at how a savvy operator such as Steve Pettaras could come a cropper. Hard to just write this one up as a case of dead wood being trimmed from the tree. What’s your opinion?
Bad news certainly generates a lot of debate. The buzz on our online forums is a barometer of this. Personally, I’ve been really pleased to see so many new users joining the debate. If you want to voice your thoughts, head to proprint.com.au and get involved. Informed, vigorous debate is integral to the health of any society, and ours is no exception. Let’s keep up the chatter, people.
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