Sappi Announces 2008 International Printers of the Year
Continental Colorcraft and Transcontinental Yorkville - O'Keefe bring home gold.
By Graphic Arts Online Staff -- Graphic Arts Online, October 7, 2008
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, (Press Release), October 7, 2008—The Sappi International Printers of the Year Awards are the world’s most prestigious accolades of excellence in print. This year the much anticipated 2008 gala event was held on Friday, 03 October 2008 in Cape Town at Rhodes House (formerly Groote Schuur), residence of adventurer businessman Cecil John Rhodes and a succession of South African Prime Ministers and State Presidents.
The award ceremony recognizes, rewards and honors the printers’ craftsmanship and attention to their work. Each winner receives a coveted cast-bronze elephant trophy created by world-renowned sculptor Donald Greig, symbolizing Sappi’s South African heritage.
Sappi Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Boëttger congratulated the Sappi International Printers of the Year saying, “Tonight we witness the best of the best in print for 2008. You have brought someone else’s ideas to life and despite budget and time constraints have turned them superbly into reality. Be assured that your effort is appreciated each and every time someone picks up your work and marvels at the rich colour, the clarity of each image and the feel of paper between their fingers. It is for this reason that people develop emotional bonds to books, magazines, calendars and have their decisions influenced so strongly by annual reports, catalogues, brochures, packaging and labels. Paper connects with human emotion in a way that a computer screen will never do.
“Sappi will always strive to be deserving of your business and respect; to being your paper partner in your pursuit of print excellence. We do not regard ourselves merely as makers of pulp and paper. We are your business partners in the value chain and continue to listen to you and deliver ever more efficient and cost-effective products that will make all of us more successful.
“Congratulations to our 2008 Sappi International Printers of the Year.”
Over 6,000 entries were received from participating countries in this year’s four qualifying regional Printers of the Year competitions. The categories were Annual Reports, Books, Brochures, Calendars, Catalogues, General Print, Magazines (sheet and web), Packaging and Labels and Printer’s own Promotion.
Regional gold award winners competed against each other in their respective categories and were judged by an international panel of judges, ensuring impartiality and the broadest spectrum of technical expertise in print. Each entry was judged on 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.
The nine overall winners were:
Annual Reports: Raff, Riederich, Germany
Books: Ultra Litho, Johannesburg, South Africa
Brochures: Continental Colorcraft, Monterey Park, CA
Calendars: Gráfica Facform Impressos Ltda, Recife, Brazil
Catalogues: A4 Ofset, Istanbul, Turkey
General Print: druckpartner Druck –und Medienhaus, Essen, Germany
Magazines: Transcontinental Yorkville-O’Keefe, Toronto, Canada
Packaging and Labels: Gráfica Facform Impressos Ltda, Recife, Brazil
Printer’s own Promotion: Pragati Offset Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, India
The judges, who are from the four participating regions, were Ronald Widdershoven, (Europe), Ken Lantz (North America), Colin Bekker (Africa) and Carlos Alvarado (Trading).
The Sappi Printers of the Year Awards which originated in Africa 30 years ago, was introduced in Europe 15 years ago, in North America 11 years ago and in the Trading region eight years ago.
More about Sappi
Sappi, a global pulp and paper company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, is the world’s leading producer of coated fine paper used in the production of glossy magazines, calendars, annual reports and brochures. The company has significant businesses in forests, pulp, coated specialty paper, packaging grades, uncoated fine paper and newsprint in Africa. Sappi is also the world's largest producer of chemical cellulose (dissolving pulp) used in the manufacture of viscose staple fiber and consumer and pharmaceutical products.
With over 15,000 employees worldwide and production facilities in nine countries on four continents, Sappi has customers in over 100 countries and is listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (SAP), the New York Stock Exchange (SPP) and the London Stock Exchange (SAZ).
For more information please visit www.sappi.com.
Sappi Names International Print Winners
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