New Zealand's Pride in Print awards night was a lot about the medium's future and the role young people will play in it.

For 'trainer of the year' Tony Reid, apprentices are the lifeblood of the industry. With the average age of his PMP Print workforce at 43, he says he is trying hard to bring the new blood through: "I will invest in young people who are on fire and actually want to do the right thing," he says.

For the rest, his success was a rare gleam for the high-volume print segment, in which Webstar Print Auckland won the heatset web process category for Miss FQ, and the recently-upgraded Fairfax Media Printing centre in Wellington won the coldset category for the April 4, 2016 edition of the Dominion Post.

The broader publication category was won by a book about the post-earthquake renewal of Christchurch, 'Let's take a walk', which was also the first-ever runner-up for the Supreme Award.

Myra Anderson, who works for the Kiwi arm of global quick-printing franchise printing.com, was named PrintNZ apprentice of the year, with Soar Print Group named training company of the year.

The presentations were made at a glittering awards night at Christchurch's Air Force Museum on Friday.

Myra Anderson says she "reached a goal" with the award, and praised her chief executive Symon Yendoll for "passing on his wisdom" and colleagues for their overall support. The awards night had also "filled me with such pride for the industry", she says.

A "very chuffed" Tony Reid dedicated his award to close colleague Marty Morgan, who was buried on Friday after losing a battle with cancer. "All of the hard work I've put in throughout the last two years couldn't have happened without him," he said.

Pictured: Tony Reid

On our homepage: Myra Anderson with printing.com chief executive Symon Yendoll