Trelleborg Drupa art sale raises funds for printing charity

- “Masters’ Collection” sold-off after Drupa 2012

 

- Trelleborg made donation to The Printing Charity for every bid received

 

Printing blanket manufacturer Trelleborg has raised €2,000 for The Printing Charity by auctioning off a series of artworks that were specifically developed for the company by young, aspiring Dutch and German artists and displayed at its innovative stand at Drupa 2012, the Institute of Contemporary Print.

 

Its Institute of Contemporary Print was designed as a creative and interactive space in which visitors to the show could relax, experience exciting art and discover the possibilities of modern print.

 

Within the Institute was the “The Masters’ Collection”, a compilation of artworks produced specifically to showcase modern interpretations of some of the world’s most famous pieces of art, while demonstrating the versatility, capabilities and range of Trelleborg’s printing blankets on a host of substrates.

 

Visitors to the Institute were also invited to become part of Drupa history by staging the first live interactive mosaic, which was created on-stand from portraits of attendees and photographs uploaded to the Institute’s website.

 

Also known as The Printers’ Charitable Corporation, The Printing Charity was set up in London in 1827 to provide financial assistance and support to those in print and the allied trades suffering in times of hardship. It helps people of all ages who work or have worked for a minimum of five years for any organisation that produces a printed output, as well as their dependent family members.

 

It also owns and runs two sheltered housing schemes for retired printers. In the last three years alone, The Printing Charity has given away £1 million (€1.3 million) to people who have applied to it for help.

 

Thomas Linkenheil, managing director of Trelleborg Printing Solutions, said: ‘Our “Masters’ Collection” consisted of reproductions of some of the world’s most famous and distinctive works of art, created using Trelleborg printing blankets, which on a wide range of different substrates, including plastic, paper, cardboard and even 3D print, is no mean feat.

 

‘So, with so many great pieces of artwork being created and displayed, we really couldn’t let them go to waste.

 

‘For every bid we received, Trelleborg made a donation to The Printing Charity, a cause close to our hearts.

 

‘I would like to personally extend a massive thank you to all those that not only uploaded their images to help form the on-stand interactive montage, but more importantly, to those that took part in the auction, without whom, we wouldn’t have been able to raise such a substantial amount of money for such a worthy cause.’ 

 

Stephen Gilbert, chief executive of The Printing Charity, added: ‘With so many people out of work due to the continuing difficult economic crisis, there are perhaps more individuals than ever before across the print, publishing and graphic arts industries that require our assistance.

 

‘It is only with such generosity we are able to reach out to those that need it most.’

 

Pictured: Bob Whitney (pictured, left), sales area manager at Trelleborg Printing Solutions, greets The Printing Charity chief executive Stephen Gilbert

 

Read more on Trelleborg here

Read more from Drupa 2012 here

Read more about printing blankets here