Next Generation in Print. Karis Copp

We recently interviewed Karis Copp who we are delighted to announce is writing for FuturePrint in 2020! Karis trained as a journalist and became interested in working for a B2B publication after an internship. Based in Bristol in the UK she became an editor at Link Publishing who produce the magazines Sign Link and Print Monthly as well as organising the Print Show in the UK. In this interview, she gives us her view of print, the pros, cons and where she sees the market developing.

Karis, tells us a little bit about your background. 

I trained as a journalist and was interested in working for a B2B publication after my internship. In terms of the printing sector, I fell into it accidentally, as many people do! I live in Bristol in the UK, and I ended up taking on a role as an editor at Link Publishing, also based in Bristol, which produces the magazines Sign Link and Print Monthly as well as organising the Print Show in the UK.

To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t given print much thought beforehand, but once you get into the industry you realise that it is everywhere, and such an important part of so many aspects of our lives. So I enjoyed reporting on the industry and getting to know more about the technology and the businesses. I also loved being part of the Print Show, and seeing it become a reality in its first year; it was part of what got me excited to work with events. I then moved more to the public relations side – I really enjoy working more closely with companies, helping them tell their stories and overcome communication challenges. 

My favourite part of every role is the people I get to work with – there are so many great, down to earth people in the print sector, so for me, it was natural to move into public relations. I have always loved going to events and engaging with people. I like seeing the industry brought to life and getting to witness people connecting and doing business. 

What are you doing now? 

I now work in a freelance capacity, focusing on communications and continuing to create content for the print industry predominantly. As I said, I love being involved in the events side, so I was really fortunate to have the chance to work with PRINTING United this year, helping their team to get the message out and coordinating the attendance of a group of journalists from leading European trade publications. PRINTING United was a really exciting show and I was very proud to be part of it – it was a fresh, innovative event and was a real highlight of 2019. It has certainly set a new bar for trade shows in this industry. Another highlight from the past year has been working with Deborah Corn at Print Media Centr, particularly the Project Peacock Print Fair events. I’m already looking forward to next year, as Print Media Centr will be hosting a ‘Printerverse’ at Drupa, broadcasting live throughout the entire event. I’ll also be continuing to help other businesses communicate their messages, and writing about print and technology trends. 

Can you explain a little more about Project Peacock? 

Project Peacock Print Fairs ran this year in New York, LA, Chicago, Dallas and Toronto. The event is a pop-up, ‘show and tell’ event that is about inspiring and educating rather than selling, where Project Peacock partners from the industry have the chance to show brands, agencies, marketers and creatives what’s possible with print. I think it works so well as Deborah has had a long career working in agencies as a print buyer, so she understands what they want to see and what they perhaps do not know. She knows from experience that there was not enough education - brands and agencies don’t tend to know anything about many of the amazing applications, which makes this project so beneficial to the industry as a whole. All the Project Peacock Print Fair events this year were really well attended, and we’ve received great feedback. The plan is to bring the event to the European market in 2020, as the same problems exist in Europe. We, perhaps like many industries, tend to keep the details of how great print is to ourselves and as a result, other people aren’t utilising print to its full potential.  I think events like this are the best way to learn, it’s definitely how I learn best; you get to see and touch the print samples, hear from experts and talk to the people in the know, as well as making new connections.

What do you like about working in the print industry? 

Print is an innovative market but also a ‘down to earth’ market which is why I like being involved. It includes some amazing people and many people willing to help one another out. Some industries have such a competitive attitude when it comes to collaboration, but the print sector seems much more inclined to work together, for example, the collaborations between software companies and OEMs, which is great – it helps to drive the sector forward. There is so much incredible innovation that it’s never boring; things advance so quickly that it’s tough to keep up!  

What is not so good within the industry?

I think print often has an issue with communicating effectively to those outside it, which aside from the problems that create with the creative sector, it can stoke misconceptions like print is outdated, or print is bad for the environment, which just isn’t true.

 There is of course still issues like the need to attract younger people into the industry and I’d like to see more women in leadership positions. There are a lot of initiatives tackling that problem; Girls Who Print, SGIA’s Women in Print Alliance, Women in Print UK, Women in Packaging UK and more. It’s fantastic for women in the industry to have opportunities to learn from one another, support one another and share advice, mentorship and experiences. So change is happening!

What are you particularly interested in at the moment?

I am really interested in future and emerging technologies, and how they intersect with print. We’re going to continue seeing how artificial intelligence and IoT can help print businesses work smarter, aid in effective automation and streamline workflow processes. Applications for printed electronics is something I hope to explore more in 2020; I love areas like wearable technology, particularly in the Medtech area.

There are so many opportunities in areas like smart labels and packaging, using augmented reality to elevate marketing campaigns and create experiences through print – something that is really important to younger people. Speaking to graphic communications students recently, they don’t buy into the ‘print vs. digital’ myth at all – they know that print is continuing to evolve, and seem really excited by the possibilities of merging the physical and digital worlds. 

Since you joined the sector in 2015, have you observed in this time changes in the market?

I definitely have, I have seen a lot of incremental changes. I think 2015 was an interesting time to come into an industry like print; it felt like the green shoots of recovery were emerging post-recession as the industry started to grow again, but print was having to adapt, consolidate, become leaner and more streamlined. The ‘adapt or die’ attitude is still relevant today, as businesses still need to recognise the importance of moving with the times.

These changes have prompted an even greater desire to get the most out of printing equipment, and there have been really exciting advances in areas that can optimise production and add value to printed products like software and finishing.

It seems that the market is always moving faster and there is always stronger turnaround demands. The tech is developing quickly, such as considerable advances in inkjet during this time, so it will be interesting to see what happens next year drupa. 

What do you think we will be seeing at Drupa?

There is going to be so much to see at drupa! I’ll be really interested to see what’s new in packaging printing and production; it looks as if there will be some great stuff to see in the touchpoint packaging area. I really liked what companies like Bobst and others showed at Labelexpo; inkjet being integrated into analogue is a key development. I like the collaborative nature of combining two technologies to get the best possible production result.

I’m definitely going to be paying attention to the focus on future tech, printed electronics, robotics – it might not be of relevance to everybody but it’s really important to think about what’s possible, and where the industry could be heading. That’s why dna (drupa next age) will be a really exciting area to visit. 

I’ll also be keeping an eye on messaging and solutions around sustainability – it’s crucial for businesses to be considering environmental impact. Technological advances play a role in this; I spoke with someone from HP’s 3D division recently who was explaining how they can print spare machine parts across the business, meaning the replacement parts are lighter, there’s less need for warehouse space as they only produce what’s needed, less shipping. AI and IoT can aid sustainability(and cut costs) in a number of ways such as smart monitoring to extend the life cycles of equipment, creating smarter supply chains, and using data analytics to cut down on unnecessary energy consumption.

If you are interested in connecting with Karis then email her here