Industry Awards Gala to focus on PINE members
Spotlight to be on new Awards of Excellence print competition
The quality and craftsmanship of New England’s leading printing and graphic communications companies will be a primary feature at Printing Industries of New England’s annual Industry Awards Gala, scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 1 in Framingham, Mass.

The wining entries from the inaugural Awards of Excellence competition will be announced at the Industry Awards Gala, which has drawn more than 200 people in recent years. Also, there will be recognition of individual and member company achievements.

For the fifth consecutive year, PINE will present its Influencer Award to an individual who has positively affected the nation’s printing industry.

PINE’s Education Award will be presented to the member company that has demonstrated an ongoing commitment over the past year to employee training and professional development. PINE’s Influencer Award is sponsored by Heidelberg. The Dedication to Education Award is sponsored by Adobe.

Xerox is also a sponsor for the evening gathering.

Continuous Membership Awards will be presented to companies whose trade association membership has extended to milestone years.

The Printing & Publishing Council of New England will present its Benjamin Franklin Printer of the Year Award at the gala as well.

Awards of Excellence debuts
PINE’s Awards of Excellence printing competition is a new venue for member firms to distinguish themselves and the variety of work they produce.

Eighteen categories have been created, some with distinct subcategories that separate entries of three-color work or less from four-color work or more. To insure a balanced competitive field, three divisions have been established: companies with up to 20 employees; 21 to 99 employees; and 100 employees or more.

“Our members produce work on a regular basis that is among the finest in the country,” said PINE President Jim Tepper. “We want to create every opportunity we can for that work to be recognized and to help our members promote their achievements so it ultimately lead to more work.”

The categories are annual reports, brochures, calendars, catalogs, corporate identity, digital printing (with subcategories for on demand printing, variable date print jobs, and a digitally printed campaign involving multiple pieces), greeting cards/invitations/postcards, labels and packaging, magazines, miscellaneous specialties, newspapers, posters and art prints, presentation folders and binders, self promotion, special finishing, stationery packages, a print innovation category for difficult jobs where printers exceeded client expectations, and web press printing with four separate subcategories.

All Best of Category winners will be entered at no cost into PIA/GATF’s 2008 Premier Print Awards.

Multiple reasons to attend
The Industry Awards Gala will be held at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel on Route 9 and adjacent to Exit 12 off the Massachusetts Turnpike in Framingham, Mass.

An opening cocktail reception will be held where vendors and suppliers will staff table-top displays of their products and services. Participating vendors include Appleton Coated, Graphic Consulting Associates, Matheson Higgins/
Congress Press, SolveIT and United Insurance Company.

Award presentations will be made throughout the banquet. Michael Makin, president and chief executive officer of Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, will serve as the event’s master of ceremonies.

For further information about the Awards of Excellence, contact Christine Hagopian at 508-804-4152 or by e-mail at chagopian04@pine.org. For questions about the Industry Awards Gala, contact Carole Taylor at 508-804-4109, or by e-mail at