PIASC Blog

Los Angeles, CA – Janet Green, Public Relations Chair of PIASC, presented the winners of the 13 th Annual Regional Print Excellence Awards competition at the recent PIASC Graphics Night at the Pacific Palms Resort in Industry Hills on Friday, April 7, 2017. Only the Best of Show, People’s Choice, Judges’, Best of Division, and Best of Category awards were presented at this event. A complete list of all winners is available by clicking here >>

The competition this year included over 90 categories within 6 Divisions. Divisions are divided into company size starting with Division 1: Printers with 1-20 employees, Division 2: Printers with 21-50 employees, Division 3: Printers with 51-100 employees, Division 4: Printers with 101- 250, Division 5: Printers with 250+ employees and Division 6: Non-Printers, Ad Agencies/Design Studios and other Graphic Arts Firms. Participants were asked to enter their best printed samples which were reviewed by our judges with a combined 90 years of experience in the printing industry. Judges considered the following: Quality of Printing, Degree of Difficulty, Technical Expertise including registration, ink coverage, density of solids, dot structure, crossovers, paper usage, category description, finishing techniques and overall visual appearance.

Companies that participated could receive up to 6 different awards:

• Best of Show, awarded to the one most outstanding entry from the entire competition.
• Best of Division, awarded to one company within like-size printers.
• Judges’ Award, awarded when all judges feel an additional piece deserved special recognition.
• Best of Category, awarded to the most outstanding entry in each category.
• Award of Excellence, awarded to those entries which are runner-ups for each category.
• Certificate of Merit, awarded to those meritorious of recognition for their high level of quality in printing and design.
• People’s Choice Award, awarded to the one piece displayed during Graphics Night that was selected by industry peers and guests.

This year we received over 270 entries from 41 companies. Entries ranged from business cards and catalogs, to labels and wall/building graphics. Judges were so impressed we awarded 96 Best of Category, 75 Awards of Excellence and 60 Certificates of Merit.

The following were the top awards announced during Graphics Night:

Best of Show: Lithographix, Inc. for “Travis Rice, The Fourth Phase Coffee Table Book” Sponsored by: Kelly Paper

Judges’ Award: Lithographix, Inc. for “The Whiskey Book”

People’s Choice Award: Stoughton Printing Co. for “Bob’s Burger Music Album” Sponsored by: Superior Lithographics, Inc.

Best of Division 1: Color Incorporated for “AMC 2016 Emmy Consideration Kit” Sponsored by: Spicers Paper

Best of Division 2: Graphic Visions, Inc. for “Pantages Theater” Sponsored by: Spicers Paper

Best of Division 3: Dual Graphics for “Why Mazda?” Sponsored by: AG Adjustments

Best of Division 4: Lithographix, Inc. for “Travis Rice, The Fourth Phase Coffee Table Book” Sponsored by: Kelly Paper

Best of Division 5: Trend Offset Printing for “The Daily Front Row, March 2016” Sponsored by: GPA, Specialty Substrates

Best of Division 6: International Printing Museum for “The Music of the Presses: 8th Annual Los Angeles Printers Fair” Sponsored by: Fujifilm

PIASC will be submitting the Best of Category winning entries at no additional charge to members to PIA’s National “Premier Print Awards” competition also known as the Benny’s. The winners of the Premier Print Awards will be announced at the annual banquet during GraphExpo in Chicago on September 10th . Next year’s competition deadline will be Friday, February 9, 2018.