As the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM) celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2015, it is interesting to speak with industry leaders who have played a key role in the organization. As NAPIM’s executive director from 1991-96, Jimmy Sutphin helped lead NAPIM to where it stands today.
 
Prior to joining NAPIM, Sutphin was president of Braden Sutphin Ink. He started at the family-owned business when he was 16, rising to president before retiring. Sutphin came on board as assistant executive director in 1989, working with James Renson (NAPIM’s executive director from 1975-91).
 
Braden Sutphin, which celebrated its own 100th anniversary back in 2013, has its own lengthy history with NAPIM; Al Sutphin, Jimmy’s father, joined NAPIM in the early 1920s.
 
“My dad was a member way back,” Sutphin said. “I started going to NAPIM conventions in 1959, and I served on the NAPIM board of directors for 10 years.” 
 
When Renson announced that he was looking to retire, Sutphin applied for the job. “I figured it would be a great way to give back to the industry,” he noted.
 
Sutphin said that Renson, who had a distinguished career within the ink industry, particularly with Inmont, was an amazing leader.
 
“Jim Renson was the most well informed ink person I ever met,” Sutphin said. “It was extraordinary what he could do.”
 
At the time Sutphin joined NAPIM, Paul Volpe was serving as the association’s technical director.
 
“I loved working with Paul Volpe,” Sutphin recalled. “He was a well informed ink guy as well. He was truly an inkie; he was working in Cuba with Sinclair & Valentine at its Havana branch when Castro took over.”
 
At first, Sutphin commuted to NAPIM’s headquarters in Harrison, NY, heading back to Ohio on the weekends, but he and his wife Louise moved east soon after in 1991. During his six-year tenure, Sutphin left his mark on NAPIM, such as bringing in George Fuchs, NAPIM’s current director of regulatory affairs and technology, as well as Jim Coleman, who would lead NAPIM from 1997 to 2011.
 
“Who would have thought I would be moving to New Jersey at the age of 57, and I am so glad that I did,” Sutphin said.
 
Sutphin said that the ink industry benefits from a strong NAPIM.
 
“NAPIM is very necessary for the industry,” Sutphin noted, adding that membership is the biggest challenge going forward. “The industry has to have a focal point.”
 
Sutphin looks back fondly on his time as NAPIM’s executive director. “There is no finer way to wind up a career,” he concluded. “It was a wonderful job.”