Whether it be whippet racing, old cars or madrigals, the first thing that British enthusiasts do when they meet other enthusiasts is to form a club or association, complete with statutes, chairman and annual dinner. Why, people ask, has the UK label business remained like a wallflower at a dance while Germans, French, Italians and Turks have all set up proactive label associations? The answer is that the British Roll Label Association or BRLA does – or rather did – exist, but kept a profile so low that powerful binoculars were needed to spot it.
Now all that is perhaps slated to change. Newly founded as a special interest group under the aegis of the British Printing Industry Federation, the BPIF Labels Group, we are told, “enjoys a high profile within the label industry,” and along with the British Short-Run Labelling Association and its 44 member companies, will be participating actively in “The Label Event,” a conference and mini-exhibition to be held in England in February 2010 and organized by Angel Business Communications. Details about the event are sketchy so far. Narrow Web Europe will keep you posted.