Top Print Industry Honour Awarded to First-Ever Woman

At Auckland’s Sky City Convention Centre on Friday 11 May, Sue Archibald became the first woman to be inducted into the Pride In Print Awards Role of Honour. She is only the sixth inductee in the awards’ 25-year history.

As awards manager, Ms Archibald has been instrumental in the development of the process, systems and format of the Pride In Print Awards since its inception in 1993.

In recent years, the printing industry has experienced decline and massive change; despite this, the Awards programme has remained stable, and the annual event continues to get bigger. This year, there were more than 900 entries in categories including packaging, publications and business print.

“I feel really honoured. When I was called up on stage, I received a standing ovation. It was instant — quite amazing. People just got up out of their seats when my name was announced. For me, that was really humbling," says Ms Archibald.

Ms Archibald and her team run the Pride In Print Awards through her company, Promote. She says that in an ever-changing industry, the challenge is to keep the Awards relevant and instigate change. It is also important that the public know what the Awards are about.

“You can't be stale. You've got to keep moving and pushing the boundaries, raising the bar.”

Like many businesswomen, Sue has experienced some sexism during her career.

“If there are a man and a woman sitting in a room, often people will immediately defer to the man when it's the woman making the decisions. That always amuses me. It still happens, but nowhere near as much as it used to.”

Ms Archibald says that coming from an advertising background, she has always been forthright and incredibly competitive. She just “gets on with things.”

“To be fair, I've been very lucky. This industry has given me a lot of support. I can ring people up and say that I need some help and they say, ‘What do you need? We'll help you.’ There are also a lot of design people involved … and, of course, there is a lot of women in design.”

Teamwork, says Ms Archibald, is essential in her role, and she works with some brilliant people.

“You have to be positive, believe in what you're doing and keep away from the politics — just be Switzerland. It’s important to keep pushing and not be frightened of change. As an industry, we’ve got to keep looking out for what is ahead of us. You’ve got to take your hat off to the print industry for being open to change. It's about working together.”

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