Sappi Fine Paper North America Printers Recognized in Sappi International Printers of the Year awards

BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi Fine Paper North America celebrates 10 finalists and two winners from our region for the widely-renowned 2012 Sappi International Printers of the Year Awards, announced today by Ralph Boettger, Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Limited in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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

The two North American winners receiving international recognition include Fry Communication, Inc. for their innovative production of Style.com in the magazine-web category, and Continental Colorcraft for the execution of the coffee table exhibition catalog, "Eye for the Sensual," in the books category.

An independent panel of judges selected the pieces representing the highest possible criteria of print craftsmanship on the overall impact of the piece, degree of technical difficulty, and print excellence. Judges are Lauren Elliot, Principal of Wicked Good Print Production based in San Francisco; Bill Garno, Director of Rochester Institute of Technology's Printing Applications Laboratory; Malcolm Keif, professor in the Graphic Communication Department at California Polytechnic State University; and, Ken Lantz, Director of Operations for Euro RSCG Life LMP in New York.

As the only global honor of its kind, the Sappi International Printers of the Year awards celebrate the best printers that continually raise the bar with exceptionally high-quality printed work from regions around the world in Southern Africa, Europe, North America and the Trading region (Central and South America, Asia and Australasia).

During the announcement, Ralph Boettger commented, "We honour the winning Sappi 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."

Finalists of Sappi's International Printers of the Year in the North American region:

*International Printers of the Year award winners

Established in 1995, the awards set the global benchmark against which any high-quality printer can measure themselves. On the advice of past winners, the competition recently evolved into a biennial event, to allow the winning printers to obtain maximum benefits from their award status.

A webcast of the announcement by Sappi Limited group CEO, Ralph Boettger, will announce the full list of finalists and winners on the 30^th of October 2012 at 10:30 a.m. EDT (14:30 GMT) via the Sappi website: http://www.sappi.com/printersoftheyear2012. View the list of 2012 winners published online: here

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.

About Sappi Fine Paper North America
Sappi Fine Paper North America, known for innovation and quality, is a preeminent North American producer of coated fine and release papers and market pulp headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Its coated fine papers, with highly recognized brand names such as McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are used in premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. The company is also the world's leading supplier of release papers for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries, including the globally recognized Ultracast brand. Sappi's release papers provide the surface aesthetics for synthetic fabrics used in footwear, clothing, upholstery and accessories, as well as the textures for decorative laminates found in kitchens, baths, flooring and other decorative surfaces. An integrated pulp and paper producer, with state-of-the-art pulp mills, Sappi is the third largest seller of hardwood pulp in North America.

Sappi Fine Paper North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited, a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with manufacturing operations on four continents in eight countries, sales offices in 35 countries, and customers in over 100 countries around the world. For more information, visit: www.sappi.com/na.

SOURCE Sappi Fine Paper North America