This SFPNA award recognizes the fine art of print production and the ability of an elite group of printers to achieve perfection within a complex manufacturing and production environment, the company explains. Printers of the Year judges review dot fidelity, cross overs, binding, color consistency across forms, and overall print integrity within 10 categories. All entries for Sappi's 2011 North American Printers of the Year must be received by the February 28 deadline.
Printers can enter any existing work printed between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2010, that uses Sappi paper as the dominant stock and is printed on a Sappi paper in the U.S. or Canada. For each entry, six copies of the printed piece must be submitted by mail along with one copy of the entry form. An electronic version of the entry form and downloadable pdf entry form www.sappi.com/na/poy are available online.
Printers may submit entries for one of the following 10 categories: Annual Reports, Books, Brochures, Calendars, Catalogs, Digital Print, Magazines (sheetfed), Magazines (web), Printer's Own Promotions, or General Print (any printed material not included in the other categories). Each printer may submit an unlimited number of entries but each entry must be accompanied by its own entry form. All entries will be judged on overall impact of the piece, degree of difficulty in the printing techniques, and technical excellence.
The 10 Gold Award winners in each category receive up to $20,000 in support of the printer's marketing and brand initiatives, and additionally up to 5,000 lbs. of paper provided by Sappi to support their sales and marketing projects. Gold, Silver and Judges' Award winners will be profiled through their own updatable web page on Sappi's Printers of the Year online resource to better connect them with designers, print buyers, and corporations. Bronze Award winners will be included in the Printers of the Year online resource, with their contact information available to all users.
The judges, none of whom work for SFPNA, define the standards for print quality based on their technical expertise. They were chosen from recognized print institutions and trade professions, including: Bill Garno, director of Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Printing Applications Laboratory (PAL), Malcolm Kief, professor in the Graphic Communication Department at Cal Poly, Ken Lantz, North American managing director of the Business Unit Hi Resolution for Kinetic in New York, and Lauren Elliot, principal of Wicked Good Print Production.
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