The origins of the PPLA date back to September 1973, when a group of 10 directors of photographic processing companies met in the Post House Hotel in Northampton. The group had been called together by Max Warwick and John Leach. Of the 10 businesses represented that day, seven have vanished completely and three are still very much in business.

At that time the Tuesday Club in London had already been in existence for a couple of years, and the benefit of discussing matters of mutual interest was clear. The thinking behind the new group related to the rapidly expanding market for professional colour processing for wedding photography; the difficulties with materials and equipment available at the time; and the widespread feeling of ‘being on your own’, grappling with problems that others elsewhere must share. This particularly applied to dealing with the dominant Kodak, and in fact, out of the very first meeting came a proposition to meet Kodak en bloc, which duly happened a few months later – with beneficial effect!

These basic principles of sharing common problems and experiences, and using combined resources to tackle industry wide issues, remain valid today.

One specific criterion was that the invited businesses should be well spread geographically and that there should be no concerns about immediate local competition. The group of 10 continued to meet for several years, albeit with several changes of personnel, before gradually coming to the conclusion that a more formal situation should be established. This happened in 1978 when the PPLA name and title were established. John Leach was elected chairman and Eric Waughray of BIPP became the first secretary. The following year Roger Saunders of MPA and BPEG was appointed secretary, and he remained in office until 1984 and established the structure, which largely continues today. He organized the first social weekend in Bath in 1985 before resigning from office in 1986. David Giles then held the secretary’s post for six years before Malcolm Pyrah took over in 1993.

After detailed discussions and careful consideration, the Council Members of the PPLA approached the membership to endorse the merging of the PPLA with the PMAI in October 2000. The payback was immediate, with all PPLA members enjoying a range of additional benefits networking with fellow professionals on an international basis.

The Photo Marketing Association International is a worldwide organisation with in excess of 20,000 members in over 100 countries. So effective has the PPLA become and so valued by its membership, the Association has charged itself with the additional objective of increasing both laboratory and supplier membership to benefit the imaging industry in its entirety.