Previously known as the DSPA, prism represents a total market in the UK of £2.1bn. It exists to help members increase competitiveness, productivity, profitability and performance. One of the biggest changes from the old DSPA format is that membership has been extended from just the printers to include all suppliers within the UK digital, screen and pad printing markets.

John Keith (pictured) is the man responsible for driving forward these changes and improvements. As such, his duties include not only boosting membership but making sure members get the most out of their association in today's changing and competitive marketplace.

So how does he plan to do this? Well, one of the key areas is working with small and medium sized companies, who often find themselves ‘firefighting,' says Keith. "We are currently seeing lots of start-ups, but many are failing," he explains. "We can provide the advice they need and hopefully stop this from happening."

This advice takes many forms, from legal advice and help with reducing insurance premiums, to an energy purchase scheme, designed to save money and take the hassle out of shopping around for the best price. prism also works to ensure members are kept up to date with any new legislation, as Keith explains:

 "If a huge document comes in, say from the HSE, we would summarise the document, highlighting those areas most relevant to our members, and then send it out. We have just distilled a load of legislation that is up and coming and summarised it into sections of low, medium and high relevance to members. So we offer a proactive feed of information," he says.

"We are also looking at getting distilled messages to companies via text messaging, as this is a very powerful communication tool nowadays."

But garment printers understandably want to see that the business they can achieve through a link with the association is tangible, adds Keith. "So a big part of our work is promoting printers to print buyers. We really want to showcase what print can do and now have an area on the website which is just for garments and textiles."

This is part of the new approach to focus not just on technology and the printing equipment, but to look more closely at the end use of print, explains Keith. The association will also have a presence at various exhibitions, seminars and conferences throughout the year.

A training package has also been put together, in the form of e-learning screen and digital printing courses. These have been developed in association with HP - the association's digital technology partner - and are part of prism's aim to bring leading companies into the fold to support its initiatives, and of course, its members.

Membership fees range from £160 a year to £1,000 a year, depending on the turnover of the business, but prism guarantees members will get this money back through the savings they will make from the many services on offer. Prior to the re-launch, membership was the main source of funding, but now there is help from the association's sponsors, who in turn benefit from getting their message out to micro arenas, explains Keith.

So why the need for such a big re-launch? "It was felt that the organisation was becoming too introverted," says Keith. "We wanted to create a more modern, community-based association, working both upstream and downstream from the printing aspect of the industry."

As such, prism works in both directions, supplying advice and information to printers, while also providing an access point for print buyers looking for specialists to work on a project.

"We are not changing the footprint, but we want to encourage more debate and communication between the printers and the suppliers," adds Keith.

The transition from old to new has been accepted well, says Keith, with none of the resistance they had envisaged. "Being part of FESPA certainly helps, but the new image is fresh and works well with printers," he says. "We have taken the things which worked well with the DSPA and kept them, and we also asked members and non-members what they would like to see. It was clear from the feedback that there had been a lack of communication before, so this is something we have really worked on."

As already mentioned, the fingerprint design is central to the association's new image and it conveys an important message, says Keith. "The logo is the Creative Design Company's interpretation of the association's vision. We wanted to express the opinion that every company will view its market differently to another one, so there is no way in which two companies will ever compete head on. 

"The message is that every printer/supplier is different - there is always a way to differentiate your business. But you have to think about what your customers' customers want, not just what your customer wants."

The overall vision for prism is to create a high value, low cost organisation, says Keith. "We have restructured the way we do things, revitalised the board, and of those board members all have individual responsibility for particular areas. All of this makes Prism able to punch above its weight."

However, it still needs a board member from the garment and textile industry and Keith would ask anyone reading this who is interested in filling this post to get in touch.

He adds: "We've demonstrated our key market reach of point of sale and graphics, and now we want to replicate that in garment and textiles and offer something that's tailored to this market. There's a need there and we want to fulfil it."

Tel: 01737 240792

Email: info@prismuk.org

Web: http://www.prismuk.org/

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