The deadline for the renamed Printing Industry Creativity Awards (PICAs) has been extended to 3 May, due to the high volume of entries and the upcoming run of public holidays.
In an email to PIAA members, Printing Industries national events manager Jacobena Mills announced the new cut-off for online entries.
"The change has been precipitated by a surge in entries with many entrants concerned that their entries would not arrive in time for judging, given the Easter long weekend followed in the same week by Anzac Day on Thursday 25 April.
"In order to alleviate concerns around the timing of entries and shipping of entries, the cut off for online entries has been moved to 3 May," she said.
The event has this year been renamed from the Printing Industry Craftsmanship Awards to the Printing Industry Creativity Awards, a move which Andrew Macaulay, CEO PIAA, says is not so much a rebranding as an evolution.
"It comes from feedback from a number of members, who have made the point that the industry is about creativity. It is massively innovative, it is at the forefront of technology adaptation, and we celebrate craftsmanship but we shouldn’t limit ourselves to that. We are creative people, and we want to celebrate that creativity, diversity, and inclusivity," he said.
Macaulay added that the quality of entries grows higher every year, and he looks forward to seeing the finalists.
"They are a testament to people’s ability to push the art and find new ways of delivering messages and commercial value to their clients – or simply art, in some cases," he said. "It’s a link between visual communications and commercial transactions, and you can see why it’s such a compelling piece of that process when all you want to do is pick it up and interact with it."
The state PICAs will again feed into the National Print Awards, which will be held this year on 15 August as part of the PrintEx trade show in Sydney. Winners will travel to Canberra for the second annual Print2Parliament event.
"This year as well as inviting politicians and decision makers to meet with the industry – at the end of the day it’s about showcasing the printing industry’s expertise – we will also be inviting major buyers and thought leaders in the consumption of print," said Macaulay.
PIAA members each have one free entry into the awards, and many are entering multiple categories, said Macaulay.
"We’ve had some members who’ve entered more than 30 categories because Print2Parliament was so valuable to them last year," he said.
Additionally, the judges have been sourced from printing associations around the region for what Macaulay describes as a truly international panel.
"The feedback from industry was that they wanted it to be international, and they didn’t want to be judged locally. We’ve used our connections through the regional printing associations, and the judges are all experts from comparable regional markets such as New Zealand and Singapore," he said.
Entries are open at https://www.printingawards.com.au/enternow.