The Australian print industry rolled out the red carpet and stepped out in style last night to recognise excellence at the National Print Awards, organised by the Visual Media Association (VMA) and held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Brisbane.
The event was opened by Kellie Northwood, VMA CEO, who thanked the sponsors, the VMA team who organised the event, and the 380 attendees in the room, saying, "What a wonderful industry we are within this evening, thank you to every entrant, every attendee, every sponsor... one of the things I heard today [at the Ink & Innovation forum staged earlier] was 'if we share and grow, we'll be stronger together', and I think that's exactly the guts and resilience our industry has, and will continue to develop as we work together and become greater and greater."
Northwood also paid tribute to retiring board member Rodney Frost, who she said is a "brilliant man, a gentleman of the industry", who has worked tirelessly on its behalf. Northwood went on to welcome new board member, replacing Frost: Andrew Price from Rawson Print Group.
Ahead of the announcement of winners, Northwood said: "To all finalists tonight, your work represents the very best of Australian visual media manufacturing and communications. To every entrant, thank you for participating, for believing in excellence and for continuing to raise the standard of our industry nationally."
In the Major Awards category, David Currie, founder and chair of Currie Group, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The citation said, "David Currie's story is one of grit, instinct, loyalty and transformation, a story woven into the fabric of the Australian print and visual media industry... "his impact on the industry itself cannot be overstated".
"Across more than five decades, Currie has employed generations of Australians, transformed the technological capability of the local industry and built one of the nations most successful family-owned print businesses. But perhaps more importantly, he has done so with resilience, generosity and an unwavering commitment to people, technology and industry."
David Currie accepted the award with humour (making a joke of the fact HP and Currie Group were the sponsors of the category) and grace, thanking the people in his life who had made his remarkable career possible, including his wife of nearly 50 years and many members of Currie Group staff. He commended what he called the print industry survivors, who he said have created a wonderful environment.
"People who say there's not going to be an image on paper anymore...look around, we're still printing and still celebrating," he said.
Another coveted Major Award award, the final announcement of the night, was the Print21 Printer of The Year, which this year went to Press Print Solutions, competing in the category against, Carbon8, Spot Productions, Rawson Print & Packaging and Style+Print.
OTHER MAJOR AWARDS WINNERS:
Workplace Culture and Wellbeing Achievement: Konica Minolta -- An Insight Driven Approach
Environmental Sustainability Achievement: Platypus Print Packaging
Industry Employee of the Year: Mark Rolls, IVE Group
Industry Supplier of the Year: Troy Stockings, Spicers
Industry Woman of the Year: Katherine Puttock, Lane Communications
Emerging Talent of the Year: Angas Adcroft, MCC Labels and Laila Stevens, Eckersley Print Group
More awards coverage to follow...