Prinnovation Awards 2011 - Alison Stieven-Taylor commentary

15 September 2011

This week I was tasked with presenting an award on behalf of Print 21 at the second annual Prinnovation Awards held as part of the PrintCom exhibition in Melbourne.

Set up in the foyer of the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) in the same space as the exhibitor function for the Visual Impact Imaging Expo and PrintCom shows, the Awards event was unfortunately a bit of a non-event.

It is only when presenting that you see the ‘audience’ from a different perspective and can perhaps understand the annoying, but very effective “ssshh-ing” that has become a hallmark of National Print Awards’ host Gorgi Coghlan’s repartee. It is hard to keep an awards crowd engaged especially when there is free food and booze to be had, and mates to catch up with.

From the stage the bright lights helped to obscure the gulf between the presenters and the audience, a crowd clearly reticent to pay attention let alone move forward.

The clinking of glasses and chatter bubbled impatiently and while those gathered closest to the stage feigned interest, half the room was lost thanks to an inadequate PA system.

Taking nothing away from the Prinnovation winners in the five categories (Wide Format, Offset/Web, Digital (Non-Variable), Digital (Variable) and General), the lackluster response from the audience, and the small number of entries, surely begs the question ‘don’t we have enough awards in the industry already?’

Pictured: Alison Stieven-Taylor (right) presenting Scott Cheevers of Creativecorp with the Print21 award.



Printing Industries has the state and national awards tied up and many suppliers run their own awards for their customers. Does it devalue the worth of an award when they are handed out with such frequency?

As the industry continues to ask the question ‘are there too many trade shows?’ why don’t we ask the same about awards?

The winners were:

  • Wide Format – PicPress VIC
  • Offset/Web – BMF Advertising, NSW (Winner) Finsbury Green, SA (Highly Commended)
  • Digital Non-Variable – Digitalpress NSW
  • Digital Variable – Frontline Print, NSW
  • General – Joint winners Superior Foil, VIC and Tafeda, NSW
  • General - Honourable mention Creativecorp, NSW