Issued by: Sappi


The prestigious award, deemed the Olympic gold medal of printing, was presented to the company by Sappi Fine Paper South Africa's Managing Director, Albert Lubbe, at a glittering gala awards function in New York on 10 October 2003.

At the ceremony, Sappi named Fontegrafica of Italy the Sappi 2003 International Printer of the Year.

South African printer, Creda Communications, has won the highly coveted Sappi 2003 African Printer of the Year award, the continent's supreme printing honour, for their First Paper 2003 corporate calendar. Creda, who had two candidate entries for the Sappi International Printer of the Year Award, was acclaimed for the excellence of its print craftsmanship in the First Paper 2003 corporate calendar, printed on 250g/m2 and 300g/m2 Sappi Magno Satin. The company received the Sappi African Printer of the Year floating trophy and a handcrafted Sappi African Printer of the Year gold medallion.

Steeped in tradition, The New York Public Library was chosen for the gala event. A working storehouse by day, the challenge was to design an event that was practical in terms of the strict rules and regulations surrounding the venue, while providing a spectacular celebration befitting the occasion. The event, described by an influential guest as "the best corporate show since the Tony Awards", was organized by events company O'MAGE.

Creda was selected by an independent panel of highly respected judges, initially from more than 350 entries from more than five countries. Entries were judged in a number of categories, including: annual reports, books, brochures, calendars and posters, magazines, packaging and labels, and general. The other African finalists were Hansa Reproprint, Trident Press and J Ryan printers (all from the Cape), Pro-Print (KwaZulu Natal) and CPD Print (Gauteng). Creda were also in the finals for their Mintek 2003 annual report.

Jonathan Leslie, Sappi's Chief Executive Officer said Sappi had initiated the awards to honour excellence in skill and craftsmanship among printers worldwide, and the awards had evolved into truly global recognition of the best in printing.

"The Sappi Printer of the Year awards are unquestionably the most prestigious in the industry worldwide. They're the Oscars of printing, the industry's equivalents of Olympic golds. The winner and all the finalists are champions at what they do. They deserve the ultimate in plaudits from their peers, their clients and the people who finally enjoy their work.

"These are companies at the very pinnacle of their profession; the organisations who consistently prove they have the skills and craftsmanship to print material with exceptionally high quality and to set universal standards for print on paper. Sappi is proud and privileged to honour their achievements."

Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented to printers in the four regions worldwide earlier in the year. The gold medal winners constituted the finalists for the international award.

The independent panel of judges, all highly qualified and experienced industry experts, consisted of:

• Greg Grace, a Fellow of the LIA (Lithographic Institute of Australia) and manager of the Print Media Academy, at Heidelberg, Sydney, Australia
  
• Anthony Stanton Director, Graphic Communications Management at the School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
  
• Werner Bothner, a founder member of the steering committee for standardisation of litho printing in South Africa and former Chairman on the technical committee for the development of SA digital colour printing. He was also Technical Director of Beith Digital in South Africa for 30 years until his retirement this year, and
  
• Emanuele Piovano, President of Assografici, the Italian Association of Printing and Paper Converting Companies, member of the General Board of Confindustria (Italian Confederation of Employers) and President of both Ideanet, which specialises in digital printing, based in Turin, and SGT in Verona.

Entries were judged on overall appearance, quality of the finishing and the general difficulty of the print job, as well as factors such as dot sharpness, ink density, registration, sheet size, paper weight, screen ruling, stitching and die cutting.

Sappi, the largest producer of fine paper in the world, is serious in its role as custodian of this ageless medium. Print engages like no other medium. If it's important, you'll print it, and The Sappi IPOTY is the ultimate honour in recognition of craftsmen who strive for perfection.

Jonathon Lesley, Executive Chairman of Sappi, could not have put it better when he said that it was the power of print that changed the mundane into the magical. From three stages, hot Broadway vocal talents and former Miss America, Susan Powell, captivated the audience. Such was the level of excitement, that the audience took to their feet to applaud the performance on stage and the performance within their own craft. The overall winner was nominated from the winners of the four global regions (Europe, Africa, North America and Trading) and for Giuseppe & Corrado Musmeci from Fontegraphica in Italy, the moment was almost too much. He reeled back, overcome by emotion as the audience rose again to applaud the 'Best Printer in the World'. He and his father accepted the coveted Elephant Trophy on behalf of the whole European Continent.

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: Sappi Fine Paper is a global business with manufacturing assets in eight countries on three continents, with customers in over 100 countries. Our main focus is on high quality branded coated fine paper. Our customers include leading printers, advertisers, publishers and designers who communicate their messages through the printed word and powerful graphic images created on our broad range of products.- more....

[26 Oct 2003 07:46]

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