Surprised Aussie printers win gold at 2nd HP Scitex awards
Taken by surprise, Cactus Imaging and Next Printing win top category prizes at the 2nd HP Scitex Digital Print APJ Awards held in conjunction with the 19th Shanghai International Advertising & Sign Technology & Equipment Exhibition.
Preoccupied with the exhibition, Cactus had completely forgotten that it had even submitted an entry into the outdoor advertising category until it’s name was called.
Nigel Spicer, general manager of Cactus Imaging says its entry was quite different with its use of colours, the concept and the sheer size of what it produced, a full stage wrap for Oprah Winfrey’s Opera House stage.
Commissioned by outdoor advertising company, Scaffad, the job had a short turnaround time, but the quality of reproduction and Cactus’ ability to print it quickly on a Scitex XP5100 impressed the judges.
He says the quality of work submitted for the awards was exceptional, particularly from China, India and Honk Kong.
“It was great to get up on stage with the Next Printing and share the limelight for the Australian win," says Spicer.
Pictured: Cactus Imaging’s entry – the stage wrapping for Oprah Winfrey’s Opera House stage.
Winning entries were selected based on degree of innovation and creativity, marketing appeal, best use of ink and colours, creative print application installation and overall aesthetics.
Martin Carballo, director of HP Scitex for Asia Pacific and Japan says the task of selecting winners in the future is just going to get tougher for judges. “It is simply amazing how rapidly the industry has progressed in the use of digital printing to produce these stunning results.”
St Peters-based Next Printing took out a gold award for its POP advertising submission, a coup for the company that installed Sydney’s first Scitex FB7500 last year.
Romeo Sanuri, general manager of Next Printing says the win was unexpected as it had never entered a competition before, “but when HP announced submissions for the awards we decided to give it a try. We were just happy to enter and hoping for a bronze, but we took a gold instead.
"Hopefully this will enable us to be more recognized within the industry. The FB7500 is still the latest piece of equipment here as it is quite a big investment, but we are now looking at how to broaden out offering to the Australian market.
Pictured: Next Printing’s entry – sample pack gift box for an open house.
A panel of internationally renowned judges from the graphic arts, signage and media industries conducted judging. They include:
- Chris Thomas, Chairman & CEO, BBDO/ Proximity Asia
- Stan Kilpin, Publisher, Digital Image Magazine
- Ivy Liang, Vice President, Marketing, HP Imaging and Printing Group, Asia Pacific and Japan
- Horacio Eduardo Miranda Ortiz, Marketing, HP Imaging and Printing, Asia Pacific and Japan
The two Australian printers are now in the running for the HP platinum awards, winners will be announced at Dscoop Asia’s gala dinner event on 23 August in Singapore.