With The Chaser’s Julian Morrow and Charles Firth at the helm, the Media Super National Print Awards Presentation Dinner was an entertaining night of laughter, celebration and networking which not only demonstrated the standards achieved in the Australian print and graphic communications sector, but the strength of the industry.
With the chase for Gold foremost in their minds, some 250 industry professionals gathered at Melbourne’s glittering Plaza Ballroom at the Regent Theatre on the ‘Paris end’ of Collins Street to hear the winners announced. In all, 100 medals were presented in this year’s competition, with 29 Gold, 31 Silver and 40 Bronze, across 32 categories and sub-categories.
Fittingly, given the location of this year’s celebration, Victorian printers were the clear leaders, with a total of 14 Gold medals from an overall tally of 40, led by the outstanding performance from Adams Print, who took out five Gold, four Silver and one Bronze Award, and Press Print which took out four Gold and three Bronze.
Other multiple award winners included Advance Press from WA, Design Works College of Design, Queensland, IPMG and Multi Colour Griffith, both from NSW, and Nulab Group and Rooster IMC from Victoria, each of whom took home two Gold.
The Judges’Award for Excellence, widely regarded as the industry’s ultimate award, this year went to Adams Print for the case-bound book, ‘Hermitage: The legacy of Catherine the Great’ for the National Gallery of Australia. Judges also singled out the digitally printed ‘Ken Duncan Portfolio’ which they described as ‘flawless’.
“Every year, we think that the standard achieved can get no higher – and each year, we are surprised again by how printers here in Australia continue to push the boundaries of quality and innovation to achieve results which would most certainly rate amongst the best in the world,” reports Chair of Judges, Luke Wooldridge.
“While the categories for the Awards have changed this year – and indeed, will continue to change as our industry continues to evolve – the Awards are judged on craftsmanship and print quality, as they have always been. We are fortunate to have a judging panel who not only have the expertise and experience required, but also unrivalled reputations for quality and integrity, and I thank them sincerely for their contribution,” he said.
Gold Awards were not made in the Leaflets, flyers or brochures on a single sheet of stock: 1-3 colours Offset, Leaflets, flyers or brochures on a single sheet of stock: 4 colours Offset, Typography, Illustration or Print/Digital categories.
The inaugural Corporate Identity Award went to Design Works College of Design for ‘Larksbury Branding’ designed by Graphic Design student Esther Larkin, who also took out the new Student Award, which focused on the unpublished concepts or printed self-promotional piece from design students.
This year’s Printing Industry Legend, presented by the Awards’ major sponsor Media Super, is Arthur Frost of Lamson Group, a widely respected industry professional whose career started selling pens and paper on trams, and later saw him not only excel in print sales for Lamson Paragon, but start his own business which brought EFTPOS and mag-stripe ticketing to Australia, head up Australia’s only trade-only manufacturer of paper rolls, Paper Rolls Australia, and an extraordinary commitment to the community through his beloved East Coast Eagles Football Club, Bravehearts, The CEO Sleepout and a number of other leading charities.
The FujiXerox Effectiveness Award which recognises the important contribution of print to the effectiveness of campaigns was presented to Rooster IMC for ‘Swinburne University Acceptance Pack’.
Addressing the gathering, NPA Chair Susan Heaney spoke not only about the extraordinary achievements of the winners recognised in this year’s Awards, but about the passion which the industry had displayed during the past year and the promise which lies ahead.
“As we celebrate the achievements of this past year and reflect on 33 years of National Print Awards history, we are also looking forward to an exciting year ahead with drupa to be held in Dusseldorf later this month and PacPrint the year after, right here in Melbourne,” she said.
“The exciting possibilities and opportunities showcased at these exhibitions will continue to shape the future of the ever-changing print and graphic communications sector. If we can continue to guard our heritage and uphold the timeless values of excellence and commitment which are demonstrated by tonight’s Award winners, while innovating and pursuing these new opportunities with the passion which has been so evident in the industry this year, print in Australia will be in a very good position indeed.”