中文Trade magazines don’t get rescued very often. When they do, the recovery usually hinges on one decision: who picks up the pen. For Print21 — Australia and New Zealand’s leading print industry publication — that decision is now made.
Liliana Engelhardt has joined as the new Editor, bringing 15 years of magazine publishing experience across print and digital. She arrives at a pivotal moment. The Visual Media Association (VMA) took operational management of the masthead back in August, and the appointment marks the next stage of that transition.
A fresh pair of hands
Engelhardt has already started work, and the early signals are encouraging. Matt Tangey, Print21 Publisher and VMA General Manager for Membership and Stakeholder Engagement, didn’t mince words about why she was the pick: “Liliana brings exactly the mix of skills we were looking for. She understands what makes a great magazine, how to bring stories to life and how to deliver strong editorial content across both print and digital platforms.”
That last part — both print and digital — is the whole ballgame for industry media in 2026. A title that only lives online misses the readers who still trust ink. A title that only lives in print misses everyone under forty. Engelhardt’s background spanning editorial management, content development, and magazine production across both formats is precisely the blend a modern trade title needs.
The graceful handover
What makes this story genuinely warm is the way the outgoing editor is being honored. Wayne Robinson, a deeply experienced industry editor, led Print21 through the transition and will continue to steer the November/December edition while working alongside Engelhardt to support the handover.
VMA CEO Kellie Northwood was unusually personal in her gratitude. She reached out to industry friends when the VMA first took Print21 back, and Robinson was among the first to step in. “Wayne has been a genuine friend to both me and the industry over many years,” she said, crediting his knowledge, relationships, and willingness to “roll up his sleeves” during a fragile period.
That kind of grace — publicly thanking the person who held the line while you rebuild — is rare in any industry, let alone one as competitive as publishing. It tells you something about the culture the VMA is trying to build around the title.
Why industry-owned media matters
There’s a bigger argument underneath the personnel news. Print21 is, in Tangey’s words, an “industry owned and industry led voice.” In an era where general-interest media collapses and trade coverage gets swallowed by content mills, a publication owned by the people it covers is a quiet act of self-defense for the whole sector.
The print industry in Australia and New Zealand is full of fascinating businesses, talented people, and genuinely new technology — from sustainable substrates to industrial inkjet. If no one tells those stories well, the industry shrinks in the public imagination even as it innovates in reality. A strong Print21 is how the sector talks to itself, and talking to yourself clearly is the first step to talking to customers.
What comes next
Engelhardt is clear about her mandate: meet the people behind the businesses, learn the technologies, and find new ways to tell those stories across pages and platforms. “There’s clearly a lot happening across the print industry,” she said, “and I’m looking forward to meeting the people behind the businesses.”
For readers, the promise is a publication with new energy but the same institutional memory. For the industry, it’s proof that the title worth saving is worth investing in.
After a rocky year, Print21 didn’t just survive. It made a bet — on an editor, on its owners, and on the idea that print journalism about print still has a future. That bet deserves to pay off.
Source: Print21 (Wayne Robinson)
