For several months, the offices here at Printing Industries of America (PIA) have been overflowing with the Premier Print Awards pieces--over 2,000 entries submitted to categories like Posters and Cards, School Yearbooks and Novelty Books, Product Catalogs and Popular Culture Magazines, even Point-of-Purchase Materials. The amount of talent expressed through craftsmanship and creativity was overwhelming, though the rigorous judging process ensured that no small detail was overlooked. Those expert judges were so impressed by this year's submissions that 127 Best in Category honors--also known as the Bennys--were awarded in a print competition that only has 115 categories.
As the world's most prominent international print competition, submissions came from all over North America, China, Indonesia, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to the 127 Benny winners that exhibited truly superior print quality and exceptional craftsmanship, our judges also awarded more than 1,000 Certificates of Merit and Awards of Recognition to those deserving submissions.
This year's Benny winners put on view all of the possibilities of printing. Pieces included a magnificent and mountainous art book, beautiful and clear images of classical art rendered in vegetable-based ink, a kooky desk calendar celebrating the Year of the Dog (complete with studded dog collar), and an outdoor-inspired t-shirt and mug gift set appropriate for your favorite fishing enthusiast. The Certificate of Merit and Award of Recognition winners were just as inspiring, with those honorees including a book cover that felt like the skin of a peach, college and diocesan magazines, wine and gin labels, and expertly bound art history books.
The Best in Show honorees will be revealed during the Premier Print Awards reception on Sunday, September 30, 2018, at the J.W. Marriot Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. PIA will also distribute the InterTech(tm) Technology honors that evening.
To view a complete list of the 2018 Premier Print Award honorees, visit www.printing.org/ppawinners.