New U.S. trade association for small printing company owners

A group of 19 American owners of small-to-medium-sized print shops has founded the National Print Owners Association, Inc. (NPOA), a new trade association providing services and products specifically geared to what for years was called the Quick-Printing segment of the industry. Serving as the new association’s Acting Executive Director is John C. Stewart of Melbourne, Florida. 

Mr. Stewart is president of QP Consulting, Inc. and for years has published statistical studies in the printing and mailing industries (until recently including studies for the National Association of Quick Printers [NAQP]).  In recent months, on his blog and Website, Mr. Stewart has reported the absence of a trade association to serve the needs and interests of small commercial printers effectively, as well as concerns over the plummeting membership numbers, high dues and overhead, and top-down leadership of existing organizations.

Incorporated on December 3, NPOA was first launched on December 21 on the popular list server at PrintOwners.org, owned by Mike Stevens of WebSitesForPrinters.com, then via a 30,000-address e-mail campaign on January 2.

In an effort to keep fees low enough that even the smallest printers can afford to join, NPOA is charging $275 for annual dues after January 31, or $225 as an introductory offer for printers who join by the end of this month.  They have already launched their own discussion group on LinkedIn and have scheduled their first Owner’s Conference to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from April 19-21, 2013.

Are you interested in joining NPOA?  Do you have any predictions on how the new association will fare?

Update on 25 February 2012:

This morning, while completing an article on the start-up of NPOA for the March issue of PrintAction, I was impressed to discover on the new association's Website that their April conference has sold out at 110 registrations and their membership count now stands at 254--pretty fast work for an organization that only became legally incorporated less than three months ago.

http://www.printowners.org/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTnllmBGcWc
http://whattheythink.com/articles/61618-national-printowners-association-launched/
http://www.quickconsultant.com/

http://www.quickconsultant.com/quickconsultantcolumns.html
http://www.thequickconsultant.blogspot.ca/
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