Konica Minolta institutes a National Specialised Print Awards for its customers to recognise excellence in digital printing.
The $10,000 prize is for promotions and business development for printers operating Konica Minolta technology. It is designed to recognise the level of printing excellence being produced on digital presses.
“We wanted to find some way of awarding the many really excellent prints our representatives see every day. Often they are produced on a Bizhub 1070, which costs around $50,000 that are delivering amazing results,” said David Casarino, National Manager Industrial Print.
“We thought a promotion package provides the best reward and so often a cash prize can get lost pretty quick in a business.”
A brainchild of Anthony Lewis, general manager, production printing, the competition is open to all Australian-based companies, individuals or associations involved in any area of print production that produces the entered print on a Konica Minolta engine. It looks to engage advertising agencies, art and design studios, advertisers and clients, printers, prepress companies and print finishing and paper merchants.
Entries for the national competition close on December 16 with state finalists flown to Sydney in February for the award ceremony. An industry panel of experts will judge the entries, looking for printing and finishing excellence.
Entry forms are available here.
The judges provide the following tips and guidelines for entrants. Good luck!
1. Don’t leave it until the last moment to select your entries for submission. When a suitable job comes in, carefully check during the run and keep some perfect copies for potential entry in the Specialised Print Awards.
2. Supply duplicate copies whenever possible; (to allow for damage in transit etc.) The judges will always check the second copy if a problem appears to be not the printer/print finisher’s error.
3. Consider entering the same entry in more than one category to increase your chances of winning.
4. Ensure good presentation - creased or folded prints do not maximise the appearance of the entry.
5. Fill out all the criteria required on the entry form carefully and accurately, describing the processes that went into the job, (including the Konica Minolta Print System model used) difficulties in production, details of embellishment or specific effects required by the customer.
6. Examine the entire job with a magnifying glass, the Judges will check and re-check before submission. At least two judges will look at every page.
7. The Judges will be looking for:
• Perfect registration – mis-registration is the most common fault in all categories
• Total absence of all forms of spots and errors
• Reverse type that fills in
• Precise page line-ups and even colour continuity across the print
• No mottle, setoff, scuff, scratches or other marking
• No banding, gloss differentiation, guide marking and bleeding
In addition to print appearance, judges may also consider:
• Quality of image preparation and overall design for digital print.
• Accuracy of finishing – folding, binding, trimming and assembly.
• Cleanness and precision of die-cutting and other embellishments
The Judges will also assess the degree of difficulty and the skill required in producing the print job.
KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED ACN 001 065 096
Konica Minolta National Specialised Print Awards 2016
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
1. All entries must have been printed between 1 January 2016 and the 15th of December 2016.
2. Entries need to be delivered to your state Branch, and submitted with your Konica Minolta Account Representative.
3. Entries close at 5pm on Friday the 16th of December 2016.
4. This competition is open to all Australian based companies, individuals or associations involved in any area of print production and that owns a Konica Minolta digital print system and this KM digital print system was used to produce the print work for submission. These companies include, but are not limited to advertising agencies, art and design studios, advertisers and clients, printing companies, pre-press companies, print finishing, paper merchants, or any other person or company associated with the production of digital print using a Konica Minolta digital print System.
5. There is no restriction on the type of stock used. Imported stock, artwork or photographs from overseas sources are acceptable, however PRINTING AND FINISHING MUST BE PRODUCED IN AUSTRALIA. In the case of graphic design categories, all graphic design must have been completed in its entirety in Australia.
6. An official online entry form must be completed for each entry with involvement from your sales account representative. Please supply typed or clearly written details. Forms must be fully completed and make recognition of all contributing sources, with accurate spelling as the details submitted on the entry will be used as copy for the award book and certificates. The committee accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies in the details submitted.
7. A minimum of two (2) samples of each entry are required!
These samples should be entered together with the entry form attached to one sample via paper clip or similar. Digital components of entries should be submitted via the web page link. Please write any web page links clearly on the entry form.
8. All entries will be retained by Konica Minolta Business Solutions Australia (KMBSA). However, if you do require your entry to be returned, this must be noted on the entry form, and pick-up arranged. After the date of the 3rd February 2017, all entries that have not been picked up, will become the property of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Australia (KMBSA).
9. Entries of value should be insured by the entrant.
Although every care is taken, KMBSA accepts no responsibility for any entry that is lost or damaged whilst in their possession or in transit. KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED ACN 001 065 096
10. Entries will be restricted to three entries per category, per company.
Companies may enter as many categories as they choose. In the event a company enters more than this number in a single category, the panel of judges will determine which three should go onto the main judging in that category, or will reassign entries to a different category if applicable.
11. The Judging Committee’s decision will be final.
12. Where a duplicate entry of the same item is entered into the same category by different entrants, priority will be given to the printer’s entry (in printing categories) or graphic designer (in graphic design categories).
13. Your entry form must specify a category in which to enter the piece. An entry may be re-categorised at the Chief Judge’s discretion.
14. In the event of low entry numbers in a particular category, the entries from that category may be combined into another suitable category.
15. Entries, regardless of category or format, that promote any organisation within the scope of the printing industry, or which feature the printing company or entrant’s name as a prominent feature of the entry, will be classified as “self-promotion”.
16. There will be one winner per state or territory who will be invited to attend the Konica Minolta National Specialised Print Awards event in Sydney. State Finalist package will include return economy airfares to Sydney from their home state or territory, one night accommodation and transfers to be arranged by Konica Minolta. The overall winner will be announced at this event and will receive a $10,000AUD advertising package which includes creative and media using Konica Minolta Australia nominated agencies. Valid for 6 months.
17. The prize is non-exchangeable, non-transferable, and is not redeemable for cash or other prizes.
FILLING OUT THE ENTRY FORM
An official online entry form must be completed for each entry.
Section A of the entry form is used to catalogue all entries and is not shown to the judges. Attach Section A to your entry with a paper clip or similar. Section B is for technical details to be considered by the judges. Ensure you do not have your business name or any identifying information written on this section.
Securely affix Section B to the back of your entry.
JUDGE’S TIPS KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED ACN 001 065 096
1. Don’t leave it until the last moment to select your entries for submission. When a suitable job comes in, carefully check during the run and keep some perfect copies for potential entry in the Specialised Print Awards.
2. Supply duplicate copies whenever possible; (to allow for damage in transit etc.) The judges will always check the second copy if a problem appears to be not the printer/print finisher’s error.
3. Consider entering the same entry in more than one category to increase your chances of winning.
4. Ensure good presentation - creased or folded prints do not maximise the appearance of the entry.
5. Fill out all the criteria required on the entry form carefully and accurately, describing the processes that went into the job, (including the Konica Minolta Print System model used) difficulties in production, details of embellishment or specific effects required by the customer.
6. Examine the entire job with a magnifying glass, the Judges will check and re-check before submission. At least two judges will look at every page.
7. The Judges will be looking for:
• Perfect registration – misregistration is the most common fault in ALL categories
• Total absence of all forms of spots and errors
• Reverse type that fills in
• Precise page line-ups and even colour continuity across the print
• No mottle, setoff, scuff, scratches or other marking
• No banding, gloss differentiation, guide marking and bleeding
In addition to print appearance, judges may also consider:
• Quality of image preparation and overall design for digital print.
• Accuracy of finishing – folding, binding, trimming and assembly.
• Cleanness and precision of die-cutting and other embellishments
The Judges will also assess the degree of difficulty and the skill required in producing the print job.