Global excellence in printing celebrated: 10 Sappi International Printers of the Year announced

JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The 10 winners for 2012, in the world's most prestigious printing competition, were announced today in Johannesburg, South Africa by Ralph Boettger, Chief Executive Officer Sappi Limited.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110728/MM43821LOGO ) 

The Sappi International Printers of the Year awards recognise the best printers from around the world; those that continually raise the bar for print excellence as new technologies and techniques have allowed them to continue to produce printed communication that grabs the attention of their intended audience despite the media clutter of our fast-paced modern world.

The international winners were chosen from 33 regional gold finalists in the following categories: annual reports, books, brochures, calendars, catalogues, digital print, general print, magazines – sheetfed, magazines – web, packaging and labels and printer's own promotion. The independent panel of judges worked to a strict set of technical criteria, focusing on production qualities (overall appearance, quality of finishing and general difficulty of the print job, as well as factors such as dot sharpness, ink density, registration, sheet size, paper weight, screen ruling, stitching and die-cutting), whilst taking into account the overall balance and appeal of the printed work and whether the combination of design, finishing and the choice of materials was appropriate. With all the finalist entries being of such a high standard, the ultimate winners were those that stood out for the judges as having that extra appeal and attention to the finest detail.

During the announcement, Ralph Boettger commented, "we honour the winning Printers of the Year for their commitment, creativity and expertise in producing printed works which push the boundaries in terms of technical mastery and innovation.  

"Awards such as these celebrate the achievements of the past two years, but they also point the way forward into the future. They do so by establishing a standard of excellence which others will strive to meet. Sappi is proud to honour these achievements."

Each winner will be presented with a cast bronze elephant trophy, specially created by world renowned sculptor Donald Greig for the Sappi awards. The elephant symbolises Sappi's South African heritage as well as the qualities of strength and courage.

Over 5,500 entries were received from participating countries in this year's qualifying regional Printers of the Year competitions in Africa, Europe, North America and the Sappi Trading region of Australasia, Asia and South and Central America.

The International panel of judges consisted of: Cynthia Morton (Africa), Bernhard Nahm (Europe), Malcolm Keif (North America) and Kai Hagenbuch (South America).

Read their CVs on the Jury page:  http://www.sappi.com/regions/sa/SupportAndSponsorships/SappiPrintersoftheYear/IPOTY/2012%20Winners/Pages/Jury.aspx

The 10 overall winners are -   

The announcement of the Sappi International Printers of the Year awards via the Sappi website is in keeping with Sappi's continuous updating of the Printers of the Year programme. This latest change ensures that the great work being done by printers across the globe can be recognised and celebrated with a far larger audience than the traditional awards event allowed. By using the power of the Web to celebrate the power of printed communication Sappi is showing how print and electronic communication will co-exist into the future as well as create valuable awareness for these committed printers. The full announcement can be seen at http://www.sappi.com/printersoftheyear2012.

Photographs are available at http://www.sappi.com/regions/sa/SupportAndSponsorships/SappiPrintersoftheYear/IPOTY/2012%20Winners/Pages/Winning-entries-media-images.aspx

More about Sappi

A global leader in paper, paper pulp and dissolving pulp solutions, Sappi Limited (JSE, NYSE), is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa; has over 14,000 employees; manufacturing operations on three continents, in eight countries and customers in 100 countries.

Sappi works closely with customers to provide them with relevant and sustainable paper, paper pulp and dissolving wood pulp products and related services and innovations. Our market-leading range of paper products includes: coated fine papers used by printers, publishers and corporate end-users in the production of books, brochures, magazines, catalogues, direct mail and many other print applications; casting release papers used by suppliers to the fashion, textiles, automobile and household industries; and in our Southern African region newsprint, uncoated graphic and business papers, premium quality packaging papers, paper grade pulp. Our dissolving wood pulp products are used worldwide by converters to create viscose fibre, acetate tow, pharmaceutical products as well as a wide range of consumer products.

For more information please visit www.sappi.com

SOURCE Sappi Limited