A comical keynote, full of wisdom and relevance 

With an extensive background in neuroscience, education, and well-being, Tim Dingle set the conference rolling with an insightful and humorous keynote ‘How to be Amazing Every Day!’  

From slow rhythmic breathing, to reading more than we think possible and letting ourselves dream… Tim used personal anecdotes to talk around continuous learning, adaptability, and resilience. He also touched on his vision for AI-driven innovation and it’s potential in leadership. A positive keynote that readied our minds for learning throughout conference.

Suppliers’ Showcase 1

Following Tim, there were interesting talks from four of our Platinum sponsors. 

First up was Justin McAteer from Canon with ‘Tips and tricks to save money’, then Mike Collins from Antalis with ‘Your Partners in Print’. Next, we heard from Wendy Hogg of Duplo with ‘Innovation in Education’, before Doug Gilbertson from Papergraphics closed the session with ‘Papergraphics & HP: Sustainable creative printing for the education sector.

Getting to know you

Before lunch we had the popular ‘Getting to know you’ session. It provided an opportunity for delegates to introduce themselves and to make acquaintances with industry colleagues.

Suppliers’ Showcase 2 

After lunch we heard from the remainder of our valued Platinum sponsors. 

Malcolm Smith of Konica Minolta Business Solutions started the session with ‘See the Potential in the Future of Print’. John Vic of Premier then spoke about ‘Premier: Giving Choices’, before David Blenkinsop explained how Ricoh UK are ‘Driving Sustainability for our Future’.

Working together – Directorates apart  

The final plenary session on Monday saw the University of Glasgow present on collaboration between their departments. 

Raymond Dickson (print), James Murray (design), Joseph Summerton (video) and Stephen McCann (photography) looked at how the Adam Smith Business School design and video team, combined skills with the University of Glasgow’s photography unit and print unit  to deliver amazing results. 

Casino Royale Party

Monday evening had all the glamour of Monte Carlo. Dressed in black and white our stylish delegates tried their luck on the casino tables.

While nobody broke the bank, playing with virtual cash, there were plenty of excited ‘Whoop! Whoop!’ shouts at winnings. 

There was slight disbelief and bonding with the croupiers, who spun almost as many plates as our managers do in the office! How do they watch the room, count the cards, give advice and clean up quite so effortlessly? Maybe their self-assurance developed from a Tim Dingle keynote. But, could they survive supporting a Welcome Week, Clearing or a Graduation season?

An action-packed Tuesday

Tuesday started with the AGM at which former ACPME Chair Stephen McCann stood down from the Board. We’d like to thank Stephen for many years of dedication to the association – particularly steering us successfully through the challenging Covid years. 

ACPME Membership Benefits

The first plenary session saw our Vice-Chair, Ollie Renshaw from the University of Leeds, give a talk on getting the most out of ACPME membership with a live demonstration of the new Online Forum. Ollie also ran through highlights from the first ACPME Annual Benchmarking Survey
– a tool which will give members meaningful sector insights, to help them to make more
informed decisions.

Insightful Discussions

Following feedback that delegates wanted more round table discussions, we split into three groups who took it in turns to share knowledge around topical issues.

Michelle Barraclough, from
the University of Sheffield, facilitated a discussion on the ‘Pros & cons of different funding models’. Steve Thomas, from Lancaster University chaired ‘Safeguarding your service and adding dynamic services’. Avril McSorley, from Edinburgh Napier University, facilitated a discussion about ‘Online systems’. As always, delegates had plenty to say.

University In-Plant Printing from Across the Cs

It’s always great to hear views from international guests. It was our pleasure to welcome two leaders from our sister associations across The Pond.

First, we heard from Tom Lydon, Director of Publications, Print & Mail at Bucknell University, Pennsylvania USA, who is President of the Board for the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP+). Then,  Phil Poelmans, Director of Media Production Services at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, who is President of The College & University Print Management Association of Canada (CUPMAC). 

Together, Tom and Phil highlighted that the challenges we face aren’t unique to the UK, giving examples of how each of their teams collaborate to add maximum value at their repective universities.

Internal Business Development and Key Relationships 

Returning to our shores, we heard Lucy Farmer’s experience of Internal Business Development, and the key relationships she has built that have been integral to the success of Print and Creative Services at The University of Sheffield. 

Lucy covered the highs and the lows, offering tips and tricks to take back to the office.

AI and it’s potential uses across print, design, photography and videography 

Our final plenary session saw professional photographer, printmaker and legal whizz Nick Dunmaur present alongside ACPME favourite Tony Harmer (a.k.a The Design Ninja) on the exciting and rapidly developing subject of AI.

Nick gave a fantastic summary of what AI is, how it is being used/abused within graphic arts and highlighted some of the copyright/ethical aspects that we should consider.   

Then, Tony took the floor with his familiar flamboyance. Diving straight into the Adobe suite, he wowed us with live demonstrations of the mind-blowing power of Generative AI.

The kind of advancements in Photoshop we saw enable anyone to easily perform complex editing tasks, such as seamlessly removing backgrounds, manipulating colours, and blending elements within images and to achieve professional-grade results.

It was impossible not to ponder the profound impact AI will have on productivity, the different ways we may work in the future and how industries such as design, photography, video, marketing and communications are being disrupted and changed.