The challenges facing the printing industry in the City Fringe boroughs - Camden, Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlets are no worse or less serious than for companies elsewhere in the UK.
Whatever we may think of American university business professors, Michael Porter's City Growth Strategy - based on the principles of "clusters" of interconnected businesses and organisations in the same industry sector - has been proven to work. In its simplest form organisations providing a similar service combine without structural alteration to provide a stronger and more efficient offering to the market place.
And hence, the Print Industry Local Support Project was born. From extensive research in 2004 the Print and Publishing Cluster Action Group (PPCAG) was formed to develop the Project to deliver business improvements to companies in the City Fringe. The members of the PPCAG were printers, representatives of their customers, local business support groups and the potential deliverers of the business improvement services.
Ultimately the PPCAG - through the City Fringe Partnership - appointed Philip Cave, a Project Manager who has extensive experience of the print industry and of managing companies through the process of change. Philip brings to the Project and more importantly its potential clients, an extensive knowledge and skill base, which will help guide the companies through a business improvement process involving an expert delivery provider.
www.fundsforprint.org.uk is the catalyst for the clusters of companies in the four City Fringe boroughs. It will not only be a source of information on the availability of printing services to the customer base but will also help provide an opportunity for printing companies to exchange information and more importantly, trade with each other.
The Project is in an early stage in its development. The funding (£1 million) is in place from the European Regional Development Fund and the London Development Agency, and already there has been significant interest from local companies in the business benefits the Project has to offer. Significantly, work has already been identified which is being placed outside the boroughs, that could so easily be produced within.
The Project includes very definite targets concerning the environment and the black and ethnic minority communities. The inclusion of these important areas of our life is crucial to the success of the Project and after the first few weeks of its implementation, it is clear that the benefits of their inclusion will add considerable weight and influence to the outcomes.
The Project is therefore for and about 'Print in London' and in particular the City Fringe. Valuable lessons will be learned that will benefit the industry throughout the capital, but in the first place we are concentrating on the City Fringe bringing the benefits to printers and their customers in Camden, Islington, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.