No gold for Australasia in this year's Sappi competition
Five silver and four bronze awards, including the first ever to a New Zealand company, made a strong showing among the intense international competition. Local printers battled against entries from Central and South America, and Asia for the coveted Sappi title.
“It’s bad luck that we didn’t win the gold, but there’s always next year,” lamented Tim Shafer, managing director of Sappi Trading Australia (pictured on left with Garth Hackett, Offset Alpine and Hugh Martin, MD Sappi Trading). “We are very pleased with the increased level of entries this year. It shows how important the competition has become in the region.”
The Sappi Trading Printer of the Year competition draws entries from those regions of the world where the international paper maker does not own and operate mills. This shapes the competition and leads to the situation where a region can miss the cut for the finals, despite a strong entry.
At a glittering event at Luna Park in Sydney last week a buoyed up audience of industry types seesawed through the emotions as the results came out. Platypus Graphics looked like an early winner with a Silver and a Bronze Award, while Scott Print was narrowly headed in the catalogues division.
Many in the audience expected Drago Zorec (pictured with his wife Dana) of D&D Graphics to replicate his success at the National Print Awards, but it was not to be. Despite a natural disappointment at missing out on the gold, and therefore an entry into the worldwide Sappi Printer of the Year Competition in Shanghai later in the year, the result emphasises the integrity and high standards of the competition.
“The number of winners from the region is a clear indication of the high quality of printing being done here,” said Shafer. “We’re looking forward to returning to the gold medal winners circle next year.”
The winners for the Australasian region are:
Silver
- Annual Reports – Platypus Graphics
- Calendars – Print Systems
- Catalogues –Scott Print
- Magazines –
Offset Alpine Printing
- Printer’s Own Promotion – D&D Global Group
Bronze
- Brochures – Platypus Graphics
- Magazines – Hannanprint
- Packaging and Labels – Huhtamaki (New Zealand)
- Printer’s Own Promotion – Offset Alpine Printing
“It’s bad luck that we didn’t win the gold, but there’s always next year,” lamented Tim Shafer, managing director of Sappi Trading Australia (pictured on left with Garth Hackett, Offset Alpine and Hugh Martin, MD Sappi Trading). “We are very pleased with the increased level of entries this year. It shows how important the competition has become in the region.”
Many in the audience expected Drago Zorec (pictured with his wife Dana) of D&D Graphics to replicate his success at the National Print Awards, but it was not to be. Despite a natural disappointment at missing out on the gold, and therefore an entry into the worldwide Sappi Printer of the Year Competition in Shanghai later in the year, the result emphasises the integrity and high standards of the competition.Offset Alpine Printing
Bronze