Issued by: Sappi


Rated by those in the industry as the Oscars of print, the award ceremony recognises, rewards and honours the printers' craftsmanship and attention to their work. Each winner receives a coveted cast-bronze elephant trophy created by world-renowned sculptor Donald Greig, symbolising Sappi's South African heritage.

Sappi Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Boëttger congratulated the Sappi International Printers of the Year, saying, “In this, the third millennium of papermaking, these printers are setting new standards of exceptional quality in print and Sappi is proud to honour their achievements. I am sure that the winners, and indeed all the finalists, will enjoy the recognition of their peers as well as their clients.”

Over 6,000 entries were received from participating countries in this year's four qualifying regional Printers of the Year competitions. The categories were:

Annual Reports * Books * Brochures * Calendars * Catalogues * General Print * Magazines (sheet and web) * Packaging and Labels * Printer's own Promotion

Regional gold award winners competed against each other in their respective categories and were judged by an international panel of judges, ensuring impartiality and the broadest spectrum of technical expertise in print. Each entry was judged on overall appearance, quality of finishing and general difficulty of the print job, as well as factors such as dot sharpness, ink density, registration, sheet size, paper weight, screen ruling, stitching and die cutting.

The nine overall winners were:

Category	Printer	Region
Annual Reports	Graphische Betriebe Eberl GmbH	Europe
Books	Drukkerij Matthys	Europe
Brochures	Graphic Press	North America
Calendars	Kal Press Ltd	Europe
Catalogues	Grupo Gráfico Romo SA de CV	Trading
General Print	Fontegrafica Srl	Europe
Magazines	Druckpartner Druck- und Medienhaus GmbH	Europe
Packaging and Labels	Atlas Printers	Africa
Printer's Own Promotion	Fontegrafica Srl	Europe

In addition, the Triple Excellence award was presented to the South ‘African printer, Hot Dot Print (General Print), who won a gold award in the same category for three consecutive years.

The judges, who hail from the four participating regions, were Hubert Justine (Europe), Constance Sidles (North America), Michael Lumb (Africa) and Carlos Alvarado (Trading).

The Sappi Printers of the Year awards which originated in Africa 29 years ago, was introduced in Europe 14 years ago, in North America 10 years ago and in the Trading region seven years ago.


More about Sappi
Sappi, a global pulp and paper company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, is the world's leading producer of coated fine paper used in the production of glossy magazines, calendars, annual reports and brochures. The company has significant businesses in forests, pulp, coated speciality paper, packaging grades, uncoated fine paper and newsprint in Africa. Sappi is also the world's largest producer of chemical cellulose (dissolving pulp) used in the manufacture of viscose staple fibre and consumer and pharmaceutical products.

With over 15,000 employees worldwide and production facilities in nine countries on four continents, Sappi has customers in over 100 countries and is listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (SAP), the New York Stock Exchange (SPP) and the London Stock Exchange (SAZ).

For more information please visit www.sappi.com

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Sappi Fine Paper is a global business with manufacturing assets in eight countries on three continents, with customers in over 100 countries. Our main focus is on high quality branded coated fine paper. Our customers include leading printers, advertisers, publishers and designers who communicate their messages through the printed word and powerful graphic images created on our broad range of products.- more....

[20 Nov 2007 13:07]

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