Industry celebrates future at drupa review dinners

Over 150 attendees have gathered in Sydney and Melbourne for a review of the trends and directions set at the recent drupa exhibition in Düsseldorf, and a celebration of the future with the presentation of both the NSW and VIC, LIA Graduate of the Year Awards.

The drupa review evenings were hosted by Visual Connections in partnership with the Visual Media Association, the LIA and the FPLMA, and sponsored by Currie Group and HP.

The Sydney review featured reflections on the world’s largest print exhibition from Sarah Moore, General Manager at Visual Connections, Benn Murphy from Clarke Murphy Print and Pranil Chandra from Next Printing. Guests also enjoyed a preview of a world-exclusive interview with Benny Landa by respected industry journalist Andy McCourt.  

The drupa review was followed by the presentation of the LIA NSW Graduate of the Year Award, which went to lithographic printer Robert Neale from WestRock. LIA’s Angus Scott introduced the Awards and Robert was presented with his trophy by Savas Mystakidis, Managing Director of Heidelberg ANZ, which has sponsored the LIA Graduate of the Year Awards since they were founded in Queensland in 1975.

In Melbourne, the crowd heard from Robyn Frampton, Marketing & Communications Manager from Visual Connections, Heath Nankervis from Southern Impact, and Andrew Crump from Peacock Bros.

LIA Victoria Vice President Jaz Allen introduced the Awards, reflecting on the importance of the program, which is run annually by the association ‘for all people in print’, and thanked sponsors Heidelberg Australia and the Collie Trust. Visual Connections and Ball & Doggett were also acknowledged for their ongoing support of the biennial LIA National Graduate Awards.

Lindsay Banks from LIA Victoria and Darren Brookes from Heidelberg then presented certificates to 2024 Finalists Imran Yunus from Multi Color Corporation, Emily McEwan from Jamesprint, Michael Bui from Fildes Food Safety, Jason Zhang from Richdale Plastics and Nicholas Smith from Park Douglas Printing. Emily and Nicholas, both from Mildura, were unable to attend the event.

Imran came out overall Winner this year earning a grant of $3000 to be put towards his professional development, with Emily awarded Regional Winner with a grant of $2000.