LOS ANGELES—The Americas Printing Association Network (APAN), which is composed of 15 regional graphic communications associations from across the country, has announced the winners of its 2023 Americas Print Awards competition. The winning entries were showcased during a live broadcast on YouTube that featured detailed video imagery and explanations of each piece.
For this competition all entries were first submitted to the regional printing competitions sponsored by APAN’s members. The 101 entries that garnered top honors at the regional level were then submitted to the Americas Print Awards to compete nationally. It took a panel of three industry experts a full day to whittle these 101 entries down to just 18 winners. As Cathy Skoglund, Chair of the Americas Print Awards and emcee for the broadcast stated, “Judging was not an easy task!”
For those who would like to see the winning entries, a recording of the awards presentation, which was sponsored by Canon, is available at https://bit.ly/2023APA .
The winners are…
Best of Show: Prisma of Phoenix, Arizona, for its exquisite and highly-complex “The Current, Volume 4,” a 268-page perfect-bound book with a soft wrap-around cover, that consists of four mini books, fold-outs and many sheets showcasing sculpture embossed textures.
Best Engraving: Arzberger Stationers of Charlotte, North Carolina, for its elegant “Rose Wedding” invitation consisting of 10 uniquely detailed pieces made using the rare art of engraving.
Best Education Kit: Starkey Printing Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for its simple, clean and effective “Admission Acceptance Folder.”
Best Point-of-Purchase: ColorDynamics of Allen, Texas, for its “Freixenet/Mionetto Dual Holiday Door Display,” a door-size piece that quickly converts from a Halloween display to a Christmas display.
Best Personalized Kit: Premier Press of Portland, Oregon, for its “Rare Beauty: Brightener and Highlighter” kit that features make up in a shade that matches the recipient’s skin tone as well as hand-kitted personalized earrings.
Best Label: Multi-Color Corporation America’s Wine & Spirits of Napa, California, for its stunning “Rancho La Gloria Tequila” label featuring gold foil, embossing, varnish and personalization.
Best Calendar: LPI of New Berlin, Wisconsin, for its “Multi-Dimensional Kurz Calendar” in which each month offers recipients a unique interactive, sensory experience.
Best Offset Printing: Deluxe Printing Group of Hickory, North Carolina, for its 80-page “Bernhardt Furniture” catalog featuring superb color consistency and excellent crossover image matches from the left-hand page to the right.
Best Binding: EnPoint of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, for its complex “Moonlight – 5 Year Anniversary” project that includes multiple pieces, each of which required a high level of binding expertise.
Best Media Kit: Clear Image Printing of Sylmar, California, for its “STARZ Dangerous Liasons, Lionsgate+ Press Kit Box,” a perfect marriage of traditional and digital printing, with outstanding foil stamping and many cool parts throughout.
Best Large Format: Sun Solutions of West Columbia, South Carolina, for its out-of-this-world “Wrap the Rocket,” a printed piece that was used to wrap a 43-foot-tall rocket located on the South Carolina State Fair property.
Best Art Print: Spectrum Print Plus of Canton, Massachusetts, for its remarkably detailed and beautifully tactile “Allegro Royal Sonesta Lion Mascot” art print, which was produced on 3 millimeter Max Metal.
Best Marketing: Hudson Printing of Salt Lake City, Utah, for its “Spark an Adventure” self-promotional piece printed using two different types of presses to showcase the difference between the two technologies.
Best Hard Cover Print: Clear Image Printing of Sylmar, California, for its “Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony & 50th Birthday, Greg Berlanti” faux leather-wrapped book consisting of 78 double-thick lay-flat pages.
Best Finishing Techniques: LCP of Waukegan, Illinois, for its “Lake County Press 2023 Calendar,” made using a wide variety of finishing techniques, including spot foil lamination, strike-through dull varnish and lavender-scented “Rub’n Smell” varnish.
Best Packaging: PJ Printers of Anaheim, California, for its “Persona 25th Anniversary Vinyl Box Set” housing a total of 15 record albums in five boxes, each of which contains its own multiple marketing pieces produced on a variety of paper stocks.
Best Creative Innovation: Studio on Fire of St. Paul, Minnesota, for its “Craft Lock Box Suite” – three different sizes of child-resistant boxes that use an outer sleeve to “lock in” an inner tray, all made on 100% recyclable paper, with no plastic involved.
Best Structural Design: Premier Press of Portland, Oregon, for its “L.O.L. Doll Box” influencer box holding 6 L.O.L. surprise dolls, a play runway house, 2 fashion show dolls, a rolled out runway and spotlights that are activated as the box opens.