Print21 publisher helps pick ANZ HP digital winners

Local HP Indigo printers competed against the best in the region during the inaugural Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) HP Digital Print Awards 2008.

Patrick Howard, Print 21 publisher, one of the four industry judges in the Singapore competition, said the local entrants were some of the best examples of digital printing he had ever seen. “In certain types of work the Australian and New Zealand entries are as good as it gets,” he said. “And I know there are other printers out there doing excellent work who didn’t enter the competition. I’m sure we’d have had more winners if they had.”

David Minnett, Group Momentum in North Sydney won first prize in the Books and Manuals category. The manual for the pharmaceutical company, Janssen-Cilag, was clearly a winner in a very competitive category, according to Howard. “David has always been a trail blazer and has consistently set benchmark standards for the industry both locally and internationally. It was very pleasing to see him get wider recognition.”

In a press release from HP David Minnett said of his Award, “it is always great working with imaginative clients like the team at Curtis Jones & Brown challenging the boundaries of what can be achieved in digital print especially with our new HP Indigo 5500. In the case of the Janssen-Cilag detail aid that won the Award for Books & Manuals Printing as soon as I saw the final printed result I knew it was a stand out item and one that my digital print services team can be very proud of producing.”

Caption: At the awards in Singapore last week, David Minnett, (left) was hosted by the organisers; Phillip Rennell, Currie Group with HP’s Steve Donegal, VS Hariharan, and Shane Lucas.

Hally Labels New Zealand was the winner in the Labels and Flexible Packaging category. “This is a very sophisticated print job that would have been difficult to produce using any method. It shows how digital label printing can hold its own with flexo or offset,” said Howard.

Hally Labels director Roger Watt did not travel to Singapore for the prize-giving but is reported as saying that he is “delighted to have won. Innovation and quality are very important to us and the jobs we submitted are indicative of the range of work we produce. It is fantastic to be rewarded for our commitment to producing the best quality labels and packaging. The Award is recognition for our entire team and has been a real boost to those who operate our HP Indigo ws4050 press.”

Aimed at inspiring print businesses to embark on the transition towards digital printing, the Awards attracted over 200 submissions across 12 countries in the region and were spread across eight categories.

Shane Lucas HP Director HP Graphic Arts South Pacific congratulated the winners saying the quality of entries was impressive. “It is heartening to see the high quality of entries from the ANZ region and I extend my congratulations to the winners of these inaugural awards. There were also a number of ANZ entrants who were runners-up in their categories indicating the level of creativity and innovation in digital printing in our region.”

The full list of winners:
* Marketing Collaterals: Suburmitra Grafistama?? – A&P Coordinator Indonesia/Singapore
* Limited Editions and Art Reproductions: Artron Enterprises, China
* Books and Manuals Printing: Group Momentum, Australia
* Photo Books / Coffee Table Books: Canvera Digital Technologies, India
* Packaging: Suburmitra Grafistama – A&P Coordinator, Singapore/Indonesia
* Labels and Flexible Packaging: Hally Labels, New Zealand
* Specialty Printing: PM Digital Products, India
* Events and Campaigns; Beijing QL-Art Printing, China