Sappi North America, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, today announced the 12 Gold Award winners of its annual North American Printer of the Year contest. Regarded as the world’s most respected accolade of excellence in printed communications, this award recognizes superior innovation and creativity in print across 11 categories for work produced on Sappi papers. The 2017 winners were chosen as the most outstanding print submissions from nearly 1,500 entries.
“We are impressed year after year with the innovative techniques that printers incorporate into their projects. While all the submissions are worthy of praise, this year’s winners truly caught our attention with their attention to detail,” said Patti Groh, Director of Marketing Communications, Sappi North America. “Our Printer of the Year competition showcases the incredible power of print to inspire and influence purchasing decisions.”
Lithographix, Inc., a premier offset and grand format printer, is this year’s 2017 Printer of the Year award winner. Based in Hawthorne, Calif., the printer was selected for the book “The 4th Phase Field Guide”, printed for Red Bull Media House, which highlights a beautiful collection of images shot during an epic four year, 16,000 mile journey across the picturesque North Pacific region. Printed on Sappi McCoy Silk paper, the book features legendary snowboarder Travis Rice, and was later adapted into an action movie.
According to judge Jim Tenorio, professor emeritus in the Cross-Media Graphics Management Program at University of Wisconsin-Stout, the piece was chosen for a number of reasons: “The printer did a great job reproducing black and white and full-color images. They matched color and tone across long full-page spreads,” he said. “It was impressively bound with colored edges and cloth siding that complemented the body of the book. The project used a great combination of format and page size that skyrocketed the impact of the broad, beautiful horizontal and vertical landscape photography that was extensive in the book.”
Lithographix will receive $20,000 to support branding and marketing initiatives, as well as up to 5,000 pounds of Sappi paper. The Gold Award winners, each chosen for their dedication to craft and meticulous eye for detail, will receive 5,000 pounds of paper as well as an award for the featured client.
A panel of highly regarded print professionals selected the winning entries based on the overall impact of the piece, degree of difficulty in printing techniques, and technical excellence. The winners of Sappi’s North American Printer of the Year award competed in a variety of categories, including Books, Brochures, Direct Mail and Catalogs. Sappi introduced two new categories to this year’s awards: Packaging and Activated Print. The following companies represent the gold winners of this year’s competition.
much more at: https://www.sappi.com/sappi-north-america-announces-winners-2017-printer-year-competition