As the National Print Awards judging panel prepares to lock themselves away for this year’s deliberations, Kodak’s Luke Wooldridge, NPA Chairman of Judges, says they have a tough job ahead with some 700 entries received for the 32nd Awards.
The ‘direct entry’ model reintroduced for the National Print Awards this year has proven a runaway success with the current tally of just under 700 entries across the 17 competition categories sure to test the skill and stamina of the multi-skilled panel.
“We are delighted with the enormous show of support this demonstrates for the National Print Awards,” Wooldridge (pictured) said today. “It really shows the value the industry places on the Awards and the desire of print service providers not only to demonstrate what they can do, but to have it judged against the work of their peers in a truly independent forum.”
Wooldridge, who heads the NPA judging panel for the second year running, has assembled a revamped team of judges from each state which includes practitioners and experts from all forms of printing, who have been selected for their particular expertise and experience.
“We have looked at the competition categories and targeted people with specific expertise to ensure each category is judged in a manner befitting its particular challenges and intricacies,” he explains.
“This year, for the first time, we will split the judging panel into two, with each group allocated categories which match their skill sets and industry experience,” he explains, adding that judges from each group will collaborate with the other, where additional expertise or advice is required. Wooldridge himself will ‘float’ between the two groups to provide a fresh set of eyes and to provide additional information where required.
“The National Print Awards judging process has always been completely transparent, and the skill of our judging panel, together with the robust and time-proven processes we have in place, ensures the industry can rely on the integrity of Awards – and therefore be confident of the significant value a NPA ‘Gold’ delivers to winning businesses.”
Judging commences tomorrow and is expected to take two full days. The Awards themselves will be announced at the NPA Presentation Dinner on Friday 15 May at Waterview in Bicentennial Park, Sydney Olympic Park. The celebration will also mark the end of the PrintEx exhibition at the nearby Sydney Showground, which runs from Wednesday 13 May through to 4pm on the Friday afternoon.
For further information, go to www.nationalprintawards.com.au