32 Issue 358 - January | February 2026 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk Like for many journalists, that moment when you switch from the interviewer to the interviewee truly feels like a full-circle moment – especially when your career began as features editor of your student-run college newspaper. I’ve always loved sharing people’s stories, and I think that love is ultimately what led me to the printing industry. From working at a local news station shortly after graduating from Millersville University with a bachelor’s degree in media arts production, where I got to strengthen my interview and article writing abilities, to working in marketing, where I got to build community relationships and coordinate events, I’ve always been drawn to making connections and bringing people together through communication. All of that is exactly what I continue to do as the communications coordinator at PRINTING United Alliance, an organisation that supports and advocates for the print industry, while bringing everyone together under one roof annually for PRINTING United Expo – the most comprehensive printing event in the world. But when I started at the Alliance in 2023, my understanding of printing was still limited to newspapers, magazines, and books. The sheer size of the industry didn’t really hit me until my first PRINTING United Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. James Martin, group president, Association at PRINTING United Alliance, offered to give me a tour of the show floor during the event, and I was in awe of all the massive printing technology in action. I specifically remember being intrigued by this octopus-looking machine (which I later learned was M&R’s automatic screen printing press) and thinking how cool the t-shirt-making process was. Needless to say, I was quickly immersed and intrigued by over a million square feet of equipment, technology, and innovation on display. Before Expo, my first behind-the-scenes exposure to print was at Anro’s commercial printing facility, an Alliance member based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Mark Subers, chief innovation officer at PRINTING United Alliance, was kind enough to organise a tour of the facility for all the Alliance’s newbies to give us an up-close look at the industry we were now a part of. Throughout the tour led by Anro’s chief operating officer, Jim Spinelli, and director, David Spinelli Jr., we got to see Anro’s commercial printing services in real-time through offset presses, finishing and bindery equipment, and much more. They even sent us home with a little swag bag, including two massive Anro pens that I still save for signing my most “official” documents. Building Connections Across the Alliance Two years later, I’m now involved in and oversee several different programs at the Alliance. Coming from a news background, I was extremely passionate about getting in front of the camera and shared this with my supervisor, the Alliance’s vice president of public relations, Amanda Kliegl. She was completely supportive and when the A Crash Course in an Underestimated Industry FRESH PERSPECTIVES | CARLY O’NEILL For this edition of Fresh Perspectives, we hear from someone on the other side of the pond – Carly O’Neill, communications coordinator at PRINTING United Alliance, who speaks about her experience in the print industry, following a successful PRINTING United Expo in 2025 One of the initiatives I am especially proud to be a part of, and support, is Women in Print Alliance – a global organisation committed to empowering and advancing women in the printing industry
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