As a sort of loose connection to the Crufts Magazine thread does anyone else think the KC are going way to far in the amount and quality of printed material they are putting out?  I have been annoyed every time I have done a dog transfer for  last year or 2 that you get one of the new puppy handbooks.  For those who have not seen them they are a very nicely presented product, really more a small paperback than a leaflet, can't be cheap to produce, and obviously aimed at the new pet puppy owner - so why on earth send them out to what I can only describe as regular users?  I transferred 2 bitches earlier this year, one an almost  7 year old out of joint ownership, and her daughter aged 2 into joint ownership - and got a booklet with each 1!  Surely it would not only be common sense but financial sense to have an opt out tick on the transfer form or webpage so those of use who do not need this would not receive it. Leaving aside the cost it ishardly enviromentally friendly - so many organisations are trying to go paper free and the KC goes paper mad!

Then there is the Companion Show pack - last ran one of these about 10 years ago, it may still have been called exemption show then :)  We got a single sheet of A4 to fill in for the license  application.  We are holding 1 this summer and I was amazed to see the "Fundraiser pack" which arrived, a beautifully produced full colour printed A4 folder containing 4 pages full colour print of tips and advice, plus a couple of pages of single color print too.  Must cost a fortune to produce, and I don't know how much of the contents were necessary, lots of it aiming at helping those who have never run a show before.  Of course it is great to have this info for those who need it, but in this part of the world all the companion shows I have attended are run by show people who need the basic stuff, not the whole package, so why not have 2 packs and save paper and expense!

This does sound like an unnecessary amount of printing, but a small consolation may be that printing costs have changed dramatically in recent years and it wouldn't cost much more to print these materials in this fine colour quality than a lower quality black and white run. I guess that a decision was made somewhere that to be viewed as a credible organisation by the general public their printed materials do need to be of decent quality, comparable with other national bodies. 

I agree they do tend to send out too much in the way of paperwork.  It's not just the printing costs but the postage costs as well.

I have 3 children who all belong to the YKC, there is no family membership which is a shame.  We get 3 copies of all documents and magazines, all sent individually.  I would be quite happy to have one copy and reduce the cost of the membership!