HP opens entries for Print Excellence Awards 2013

Gido van Praag, vice president and general manager, Graphics Solutions Business, Printing and Personal Systems Group, HP Asia Pacific and Japan said, “With the evolution of digital printing, PSPs are developing creative and innovative ways to display information and are using designs, mediums and formats that were previously unattainable. The HP Digital Print Excellence Awards honour those who are pushing the print industry forward with ingenuity and creativity. By recognising these efforts, we want to encourage and inspire PSPs to push the boundaries of the industry and create impactful materials for their current and future clients.”

The Awards are open to companies from across Asia Pacific and Japan for entries that are printed on large-format HP Scitex and Designjet systems, HP Indigo or Inkjet Web Presses. Winners will be recognised in each of several categories and overall winners will also be named.

Categories include:

HP Sign & Display
- Transit Graphics –vehicle wraps, fleet graphics and other graphics used specifically for transit areas
- Exhibitions and Events – signage, graphics and other material used in an event setting
- Outdoor Advertising – building wraps, billboard signage, floor
- Graphics, backlit signage and textile (flags & banners) graphics
- Retail POP/POS –  rigid or flexible applications of point-of-purchase/point-of-sale materials
- Green digital printing–  print jobs involving a combination of the following: Inks using dye-based, latex inks and UV inks and Printing Substrates using environmentally-responsible  printing materials that are recyclable such as non-PVC-based banner, cotton-based fabrics and recycled paper
- Innovative Application/Unique Media – Special media or creative applications which do not fall into one of the above categories

HP Indigo and  Inkjet Web Presses

Commercial Press Categories:         
- Photo Books – consumer, premium or art books
- General Commercial Printing – marketing collateral, POS/POP, leaflets, flyers, brochures 
- Direct Mail and Transpromo – Real finishing mailers
- Books and Manuals
- Limited Edition / Art Reproduction
- Environmental Responsibility

Industrial Press Categories:
-  Labels – wine & spirits, non-alcoholic beverages, food, health & beauty, pharmaceutical, neutraceutical and Industrial applications
- Shrink Sleeves
- Flexible Packaging
- Folding Cartons
- Environmental Responsibility  

More than 40 awards will be distributed to winners at the Print Excellence Awards Dinner in Beijing on 12 May, 2013.

The judging process for the awards involves a panel of regionally renowned judges from the graphics arts and signage industries evaluating each entry and selecting winners based on criteria including: creativity, overall aesthetics, marketing appeal & effectiveness, best use of inks and colours and client satisfaction.

These expert judges recognize the level of artisanship that goes into each PSP/customer relationship and relish the chance to honour the most innovative among the industry. David Zwang, a 2012 judge, said, “It was exciting to see the way print service providers and their customers were able to push the envelope with the HP print technologies.” He goes on to note that “offset print has always been the benchmark that people use to set their expectation for quality print. There is no doubt in my mind that the Indigo print entries we saw not only met that level, but exceeded it.”

Submissions for the HP Print Excellence Awards for Asia Pacific and Japan are open now and will close on 22 February 2013.