Take a group of printing industry personalities, mix with a new venue, sprinkle a little Julia Morris over the top and you have a recipe for a great night out - the hallmark of the 2011 Employers Mutual Printing Industries Craftsmanship Awards presentation dinner last Friday.
Almost 400 people attended the Grand Ballroom of the Sofitel Wentworth Sydney to enjoy a night with the printing industry's finest. Even the NSW Premier was represented by the NSW Minister for Fair Trading, the Hon. Anthony Roberts MP.
A total of 39 gold, 44 silver and 34 bronze awards were made. In addition a record 47 companies achieved Long Term Membership awards for 10, 25 and 50 years continuous membership.
The night featured a mixture of some well known entrants doing well and some newcomers coming to the fore. Offset Alpine scooped the pool winning 25 awards including 10 gold, four silver and seven bronze medals in the print awards categories and in the Business Excellence categories three gold and one silver award.
Their success was enough to see them achieve the NSW Printer of the Year award for the second successive year.
First time entrants Fairfax Regional Printers in Dubbo took out the gold for OH&S in the small business Occupational Health and Safety Initiatives category and another first timer, Ulladulla Printing Service, snapped up the silver Environmental Initiatives award for small business and TAFEDA the Gold medal for Embellishment.
Printing Industries CEO Bill Healey said he believed the NSW printing industry had again demonstrated industry resilience in difficult times.
"In spite of difficult trading conditions and the loss of companies to our industry during the past 12 months, PICA attracted entries from a greater number of companies this year, although the actual number of entries fell marginally on last year's figure from 359 to 344." he said.
"This underscores the value of achieving a PICA medal at any level as acknowledgement of production product quality and as a point of difference in a very competitive marketplace.
“I was very impressed with the night. It was a tribute to Sydney staff who put it together."
Mr Healey also commended MC Julia Morris for her management of the presentations and her very natural interaction with award recipients and the audience overall.
"Our new venue was great, the organisation was great, Julia was great and my feedback thus far is that people had a great time, so I'm happy." he said.
Judging overview
Judging panel chairman Warwick Roden, said that overall the general standard of entries was very high.
"However, all of our judges noted that there were not as many 'outstanding items' and this is probably a reflection of the Global Financial Crisis impact and reduced budgets," he said.
Mr Roden said that as one judge noted, “In these challenging times, commercial reality must prevail, and this constraint was evident in some entries. These displayed a 'get it through production quickly' result, when for a very small amount of extra time, these small imperfections can be easily rectified”.
He said that while the printed sheet was very good, in many cases the poor binding and finishing let the entry down.
"In particular "line ups" between pages, or the cover of a magazine or catalogue being smaller than the text content," Mr Roden said.
"Embossing and foil stamping on all entries was extremely fine and displayed a very high level of innovation, imagination and skill.
"The innovative category displayed some very interesting and highly technical pieces to capture the imagination. One wonders what the industry will produce next?"
Print industry reflects economic climate
Industry praise was also forthcoming from the NSW Minister for Fair Trading, the Hon Anthony Roberts, who said he recognised that the printing industry acted as an economic barometer on the state of the economy.
"Orders for packaging, catalogues, advertising ,material are very real, extremely timely and elastic indicators of the strength of demand more broadly in the economy," he said.
"We spend a lot of money on your products on a regular basis - newsletters, brochures and election material.
"We use your services and products for one reason - they are an extremely effective way to communicate."
Mr Roberts said it was no secret that much work needed to be done to make NSW number one again.
He said the NSW Government understood the need from business to reduce the cost of doing business, cut red tape, invest in productive infrastructure and "get our own fiscal house in order so we can reduce shared costs and provide services more effectively".
"If we make this contribution, we help lift the burden on the printers, the designers,distributors, software specialists, the binders, the finishers and thousands of others that make up the printing industry."
Mr Roberts said the industry faced challenges and opportunities including the rise of digital media; the relentless advances in technology, globalisation and the need for new business models and the rise of environmental awareness.
"In all of these areas, those of you here tonight have demonstrated grit, innovation and leadership.
"You have demonstrated that as an industry you have what it takes. You have demonstrated that you are prepared to change and determined to leverage opportunities to grow, create new markets and better serve your customers.
"It is a credit to everyone here and extremely heartening for those of us who value and use your products and services," he said.
Congratulations to the Printing Industries Association of Australian Continuous Membership award recipients (click here for full list)
View all the NSW PICA dinner presentation photos here
| PRINTER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED TO - Offset Alpine Printing |
| BUSINESS AWARDS CATEGORY WINNERS | ||
| Category | Awarded to | Medal |
 | ||
| Innovative Business Practices - Small Business | Body of Work | Gold |
| Innovative Business Practices - Medium to Large Business | No award made | - |
| Education and Training Initiatives - Small Business | No award made | - |
| Education and Training Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| Education and Training Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | Snap Franchising Ltd | Silver |
| Education and Training Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | PMP Limited Moorebank | Bronze |
| Environmental Initiatives - Small Business | Ulladulla Printing Service | Silver |
| Environmental Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| Environmental Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | Bright Print Group | Silver |
| Environmental Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | PMP Limited Moorebank | Bronze |
| Occupational Health and Safety Initiatives - Small Business | Fairfax Regional Printers - Dubbo | Gold |
| Occupational Health and Safety Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| Occupational Health and Safety Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | Bright Print Group | Silver |
| Occupational Health and Safety Initiatives - Medium to Large Business | PMP Limited Moorebank | Bronze |
| PRINT EXCELLENCE AWARDS CATEGORY | |||
| Category | Entry Title | Entered By | Medal |
| |||
| (1) One, two and three colour printing | Racing Vet Hoof Gel | Impact International | Gold |
| Marcs Icon Catalogue | Offset Alpine Printing | Silver | |
| Halcyon Days Invites | Special T Print | Bronze | |
| (2) Commercial posters, showcards, card constructions and mobiles | P&G Invite | IntoPrint Pty Ltd | Gold |
| Kellogg JMC Mobile | Bright Print Group | Silver | |
| Big W - Jamie Durie Patio Outdoor Living Collection | GEON Sydney | Bronze | |
| (3) Leaflets | Country Road - Modern Australian Style Preview Spring 2011 | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| The Little Engine That Could | Sony DADC | Silver | |
| Seafolly Summer 2011 Kids Insert | Offset Alpine Printing | Bronze | |
| Maserati Gpp Folder | Rawson Graphics | Bronze | |
| (4) Presentation Folders | Audi Presentation Folder | GEON Sydney | Gold |
| Australian Export Awards Presentation Folder | Rawson Graphics | Silver | |
| Dransfield Folders | Southern Colour NSW Pty Ltd | Bronze | |
| (5) Booklets, catalogues and magazines saddle-stitched | David Lawrence Spring 2011 Booklet | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| Bathers Booklet | Rawson Graphics | Silver | |
| Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Booklet | Offset Alpine Printing | Bronze | |
| (6) Booklets, catalogues and magazines bound by any method but saddle-stiching | David Jones Winter Brand Book 2011 | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| Harrington Grove | STI Lilyfield PTY Ltd | Gold | |
| The Summer Cooking Book | Blue Star PRINT | Silver | |
| H.K. Womens Catalogue | Southern Colour NSW Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Zimmermann Z Catalogue | Special T Print | Silver | |
| Cerrone - Life is Precious | GEON Sydney | Bronze | |
| M&C Saatchi - 15 year book | GEON Sydney | Bronze | |
| (7) Annual reports | Oil Search Annual & Sustainability Reports | Sydney Allen Printers | Gold |
| NGA Foundation Annual Report | Special T Print | Silver | |
| Cockatoo Annual Report 2010 | RDA Creative | Bronze | |
| (8) Calendars | Southern Crossing' Wall Calendars | Green and Gold Printing | Gold |
| Australian Geographic Calendar | Immij NSW | Silver | |
| Body of Work All Seasons Catalogue | Body of Work | Bronze | |
| (9) Stationery | Acreage Business Card | RDA Creative | Silver |
| (10) Postcards and greeting cards | Seafolly Postcards x 6 | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| Wedding Thank You - Willow Belle | Momento Pro Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| (11) Limited editions or art reproductions | Maps That Shaped Australia | Graphic Services | Gold |
| Macquarie's Towns - Limited Edition | Graphic Services | Silver | |
| Wendy Sharpe Artbook | Offset Alpine Printing | Bronze | |
| (12) Book printing, case bound | Lexus - The LS Line | GEON Sydney | Gold |
| David Aspden Book | Lindsay Yates Group | Silver | |
| (13) Book printing, limp bound | Lovelace | Special T Print | Gold |
| Paspaley Pearls 2011 Catalogue | Offset Alpine Printing | Silver | |
| (14) Book printing, digitally printed | Cloud Street Booklet | Satellite Digital | Gold |
| Josh & Marlinna | Momento Pro Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Reportage, a retrospective 1999-2009 | Momento Pro Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Book printing, digitally printed | Green and Gold Printing | Bronze | |
| (15) Multi piece productions and campaigns | Sony Xperia Arc Promo | Graphitype Printing Services | Gold |
| Tim Tam Dark POS | Graphitype Printing Services | Silver | |
| Weekend He (AD) Space Books x 2 Kinds | Southern Colour NSW Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Wattyl Australia Campaign | Craft Inprint Sydney | Bronze | |
| (16) Impact, sensory or Direct Mail | Humalog Kwik Pen Adjustment Guide | GEON Sydney | Gold |
| Android Man Self Mailer | Immij NSW | Gold | |
| Avon Christmas 2011 | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold | |
| Offset Alpine Printing - Capabilities Promotional Leaflet | Offset Alpine Printing | Silver | |
| (17) Packaging - cardboard substrate | Star Wars Lego Slipcase & Bluray | STI Lilyfield PTY Ltd | Gold |
| BPG Treasure Chest | Bright Print Group | Silver | |
| Scott Pilgrim vs The World | Sony DADC | Silver | |
| Agnes Obel | Sony DADC | Silver | |
| Kick Ass | Sony DADC | Bronze | |
| (18) Packaging - any substrate other than cardboard | Redwin Organics: Vanilla and Kakadu Plum | Impact International | Bronze |
| (19) Labels, roll fed | Thistle Hill Reserve | Ever-Redi Press Pty Ltd | Gold |
| Baldivis Estate Sweet Classic Front Label | Impresstik Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Mandala Blanc de Blancs 2008 Wine Sets | Impresstik Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Paynes Crossing | Ever-Redi Press | Bronze | |
| (20) Labels, sheet fed | 7kg OMO Front Loader 1ml Bucket Label | The Van Dyke Press Pty Ltd | Silver |
| 540g Three Threes Sweet Spiced Cherkins | The Van Dyke Press Pty Ltd | Bronze | |
| (21) Security or specialty printing | NSW Certificate of Title | Graphic Services | Gold |
| CD Wedding Invitation & Order of Service Cover | Watermarx Graphics | Gold | |
| Paspaley Invitations | Watermarx Graphics | Silver | |
| The Style Co Wedding Invitations | Watermarx Graphics | Bronze | |
| (22) Flexographic printing - any substance | Naroop Sachets | Graphitype Printing Services | Silver |
| (23) Screen Printing | Coco Island Coconut Hand and Body Lotion | Impact International | Silver |
| (24) Web offset printing, heat set | David Jones Winter Brand Book 2011 | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| RM Williams Spring/Summer 2012 Catalogue | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold | |
| Myer My Style | Hannanprint NSW Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Country Road Christmas 2010 | Offset Alpine Printing | Silver | |
| Country Road Summer 2010 | Offset Alpine Printing | Bronze | |
| Harvey Norman - Mothers Day | PMP Limited Moorebank | Bronze | |
| (25) Web offset printing, cold set | Hawkesbury Gazette | Rural Press Printing | Bronze |
| (26) Web offset publications with a cover price | Selector Spring 2011 | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold |
| Bride to Be Flowers Annual 2011 | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold | |
| The Best of Outback Tracks | Offset Alpine Printing | Gold | |
| Delicious Magazine August 2011 | Hannanprint NSW Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Masterchef Magazine Issue No. 09 | Hannanprint NSW Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Just Be Magazine Issue #2 | Offset Alpine Printing | Silver | |
| Donna Hay Magazine Issue # 58 2011 | Offset Alpine Printing | Bronze | |
| Diabetic Living | PMP Limited Moorebank | Bronze | |
| New Weekly - Sept 20, 2010 #38 | PMP Limited Moorebank | Bronze | |
| (27) Digital Printing, non inkjet | Australia's Year in Music 2010 | Ligare Pty Ltd | Gold |
| We are ten booklet | Rawson Graphics | Silver | |
| Hawkins Family | Momento Pro Pty Ltd | Bronze | |
| (28) Digital printing inkjet | Head On 2011 | Momento Pro Pty Ltd | Gold |
| (29) Digital printing wide format | Sydney Dance Company - The Land of Yes and the Land of No | GEON Sydney | Gold |
| OnePath Super Concepts Banner | GEON Sydney | Silver | |
| (30) Embellishment | Identity & Media Kit | TAFEDA Pty Ltd | Gold |
| Icely Road Merlot Cabernet Wine Front Labels | Impresstik Pty Ltd | Silver | |
| Tactility | Avon Graphics - Sydney | Bronze | |
| $1.5 Million Baccarat Tournament Invitation | Immij NSW | Bronze | |
| (31) Self promotion | Body of Work All Seasons Catalogue | Body of Work | Gold |
| Evolve Volume 1 | Evolve Printing | Silver | |
| BPG Paper Guide | Bright Print Group | Bronze | |
| Offset Alpine Printing - Capabilities Promotional Leaflet | Offset Alpine Printing | Bronze | |
| (32) Innovation | Castrol Invite | Digitalpress Pty Ltd | Gold |
| Audi Christmas Cards | GEON Sydney | Silver | |
| Offset Alpine Printing - Capabilities Promotional Leaflet | Offset Alpine Printing | Bronze | |
| (33) Small printing business awards, less than 15 staff | Evolve Volume 1 | Evolve Printing Pty Ltd | Gold |
| Elevate Your Clean | Mercury Creative | Silver | |
| Life Under The Light Catalogue | Peachy Print Australia Pty Ltd | Bronze | |
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