Tim Carter, a director of print technology company Ricoh, has become one of three new members of the Independent Print Industry Association (IPIA)’s council to help steer the organisation.
Carter, who has been at Ricoh in the UK for over 16 years, brings with him decades of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) technological know-how and a strong international network of people and companies.
He has joined at the same time as Matthew Ruff, sales and marketing director at logistics specialist Reliance Worldwide, and John Morley, a director at eProductivity Software (EPS), helping to swell the IPIA council ranks to 17.
Carter said he felt the print industry had shown “massive resilience” over the years and that he supported the IPIA’s focus on maintaining that resilience and empowering members to make behavioural and cultural changes in the face of technological advances and other competing digital content channels.
“I’m also pretty passionate about the legacy that we, the print industry, leave. I feel we all have a responsibility to promote our sector as dynamic, enjoyable and fruitful in order to attract and entice younger talent to want to invest their lives in it and make it successful too.”
Ricoh is a supplier of hardware and software products, including print heads and a range of entry-level direct-to-garment (DTG) printers.
IPIA chairman Graeme Smith said: “2022 marks an incredible year of growth for the IPIA and we’re excited by the energy, insight and diverse knowledge that Tim, Matthew and John bring.
“We’ve set ourselves some ambitious objectives and their input will be especially invaluable moving forward apace in areas like prioritising ESG [environmental, social, governance], promoting the value of print as part of a channel mix and encouraging a younger and more diverse workforce into the sector.
“The print sector has always faced challenges, but it survives through adaptation, knowledge sharing, peer collaboration and finding solutions.”
Founded in 1992, the IPIA is a not-for-profit membership association for the print industry, including companies incolved in garment printing.
