Intergraf history
INTERGRAF was set up 26 years ago, opening its office in
Brussels on 3rd July 1984. It was, however, a direct descendant of the
International Bureau of the Federations of Master Printers, which began
work from an address in Berlin on 1st January 1930, and also of
Eurograf, set up in Brussels in 1976 to represent the interests of the
printing industry in the European Community.
International cooperation in the printing industry goes a long way
back. The Swedes took the initiative just five years after the Great War
(1914 - 1918) to invite printers not only from Europe, but from as far
afield as Australia, to a first printers' congress in Gothenburg.
Today's buzzword, "networking", was certainly not part of the vocabulary
in 1923, but the delegates appreciated the possibility to exchange ideas
and experiences with fellow printers from other countries, so further
congresses followed in quick succession.
The British suggested that a permanent office was needed to maintain
the contacts and encourage the flow of information. They also wanted a
mechanism to facilitate the exchange of the sons and daughters of
printing plant owners, so that they could get training and work
experience abroad. Founded in Berlin in 1930, the office moved
to London in 1946, and brought the printers from war-torn Europe
together for a larger congress in Stockholm in 1948.
The International Bureau wisely set up a "temporary" committee to
assess all factors that could influence competition in the new
Europe. This included wages and related social costs, customs
tariffs, indirect taxes affecting the cost of production, the price of
paper and printing machinery, national technical standards relating to
print production, to name a few. Many of its recommendations became
features of the ongoing work of the International Bureau for many years
thereafter.
Another conference series with which the international organisation
has had unfailing and increasing success right up to the present time
concerns Security Printing. Success in this area has been very largely
due to the input over many years from expert committee members delegated
by Europe's leading security printing companies.
When Intergraf was finally formed in Brussels in 1984, it was the
result of the federations in EU member states forming their own
voluntary work group on common market issues, with a
strong focus on EU institutions. In the end, this organisation was
merged with the association based in London. As result, a single
cohesive organisation, combining contact with EU institutions
and synergy between local federations internationally, was
created.
