Sappi Trading Printer of the Year Award

The Sappi Trading Printer of the Year Award is one of four preliminary regional events in the world's most prestigious print competition, the Sappi International Printer of the Year Awards.

The Sappi Trading Printer of the Year recognizes and celebrates the outstanding skill, vision and innovation of printers from Asia, Australasia, Central and South America. Those printers who have risen to the challenge and produced superb works of print excellence are recognized and rewarded.

The gold award winners from each of these regions are automatically entered as finalists in the international event - Sappi International Printer of the Year. Here they will compete against other regional gold award finalists from Africa, Europe, and North America for the highest accolade that can be bestowed upon a printer, globally.

The closing date for entries is 31 January 2008.

WHO CAN ENTER
Printers from all over the world are invited to participate by submitting their best print work. All printers are eligible to enter. Suppliers and clients of the printer may submit the printer’s work providing that the printer approves and signs the entry form. All entries must be printed on, or mainly on, Magno Supreme Art Paper and Uniqa Fancy Paper. The entry must have been printed between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007. The same printer may submit as many entries as they wish.

HOW TO ENTER
Complete the judging and general information sections of the entry form and send them with your entry.
Submit at least four copies of each entry. Do not use staples and ensure that your entry is well protected and in immaculate condition. An incomplete entry form may lead to disqualification by the judging committee. Entries should be delivered to Polytrade Paper Corp. Ltd.

NB Should a submitted entry be awarded a regional gold award, thus advancing to the International awards, an additional two copies of the entry will be required.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
The details on the entry form are accepted as correct and accurate and all awards will be made according to this information. Winners and their entries will be photographed and promoted. It is the full responsibility of the printer to obtain agreement from their client to enter the work.

The judges reserve the right to re-allocate an entry to a different category at their discretion. The judges refrain from judging their company’s entries. The judges reserve the right not to nominate winners and also to award merit certificates as they see fit. The judges’ decision is final and no discussions will be entered into.

Irrespective of the person/company submitting the entry, the awards are made to the printer/company that printed the winning entry.

All information must be fully completed. Please use a black pen and write clearly. Business cards may be attached, but please complete the additional information and sign the entry form. Submit at least four copies of your entry.

THE AWARDS
Bronze, silver and gold awards are presented in nine categories. The winning printers and their partners are invited to receive their awards at gala awards celebrations held at prestigious venues appropriately chosen to recognise ‘the best of the best’ in print.

The categories are:

TRIPLE EXCELLENCE AWARD
In honour of outstanding performance, a Triple Excellence Award is granted to a printer that wins a gold award in the same category for three consecutive years. Any printer who receives this award may not submit an entry in the same category for the following two years, after which time they may again submit an entry into this category.

THE INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
The gold award winners named at the regional Sappi Trading Printers of the Year events will be invited to the Sappi International Printers of the Year awards, held in a prestigious international destination. Here, with the gold award winners from Europe, North America and Africa they will take up the challenge of being judged as one of the Sappi International Printers of the Year. These are the ultimate awards in the global printing industry.

JUDGING CRITERIA
The judging of the awards has been carefully structured to ensure the highest possible standards, coupled with a balanced perspective. Each entry remains anonymous throughout.

Overall impact 20 points
Degree of difficulty 20 points
Technical excellence 60 points