Sappi Fine Paper North America, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, has announced its 2016 North American Printer of the Year Award and 10 Gold Award winners from its 19th Annual North American Printer of the Year Contest. Regarded as one of the world’s most respected accolades of excellence in printed communications, this award recognizes superior innovation and creativity in print across 10 categories for work produced on Sappi papers. The 2016 winners were chosen as the most outstanding print submissions from over 1,400 entries.
Battlefield Graphics of Burlington, Ontario, a full-service printer with a range of capabilities that includes in-house pre-press, printing and finishing services, is this year’s Printer of the Year Award winner. The commercial printer was selected for its book Art of Rush, printed for Showtech Merchandising Inc. The publication showcases the 40-year relationship of famed musical group Rush and its long-time artist and illustrator, Hugh Syme. The book was printed on Sappi’s McCoy Gloss Text and McCoy Silk Cover. Two other Canadian printers – Hemlock and Colour Innovations – also won Sappi Gold Awards. Battlefield Graphics will receive $20,000 to support branding and marketing initiatives, and up to 5,000 lbs. of Sappi paper. The Gold Award winners, each chosen for their dedication to their craft and meticulous eye for detail, will receive 5,000 pounds of paper and a spot on the list of preferred Sappi printers.
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 quality of the printing throughout the entirety of Art of Rush was stellar. It was a challenging piece to create in that the content and images contained a lot of variety,” he said. “It’s one thing to produce a good volume when the images are similar, but the stakes are raised when the content includes artwork with a variety of images, styles and original media that spanned decades. The design and execution of the book binding complemented and unified the content into an exceptional example of the power of print.”
“Printers are consistently finding groundbreaking ways to showcase the work of talented designers and marketers. All of the projects submitted this year were worthy of praise, and the competition was fierce,” said Patti Groh, Director of Marketing Communications at Sappi North America. “With our Printer of the Year competition, Sappi believes that these brilliant and visionary ideas are shaping the future of our industry.”
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 Cross-Channel Communications. The following companies represent the very best from this year’s competition:
Gold Award Winners of Sappi’s North American Printers of the Year for 2016
- Battlefield Graphics, Burlington, Ontario (Books)
- HighRoad Press, Moonachie, New Jersey (Brochures)
- Kirkwood, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey (Catalogues)
- Sandy Alexander, Clifton, New Jersey (Cross-Channel Communications)
- Colour Innovations, Toronto, Ontario (Digital)
- Classic Color, Broadview, Illinois (Direct Mail)
- The Hennegan Company and RR Donnelley Company, Florence, Kentucky (General)
- Hemlock Printers, Burnaby, British Columbia (Magazines – Sheet)
- Publishers Press, Shepherdsville, Kentucky (Magazines – Web)
- Fry Communications, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (Printers Own Promotions)
Graphic Arts Magazine would like to extend our congratulations to Sappi North America and all the Gold winners, with special call-outs to the Canadian winners.
More about Battlefield Graphics
Founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario in 1964, family owned and operated Battlefield Graphics uses state-of-the-art colour management technology, can print up to 12 colours with exceptionally fast turnarounds, has a complete on-site bindery and the latest finishing equipment all under one roof, and also specializes in plastic as well as paper printed materials.
