Graphic Excellence Awards
This annual regional print competition affords a unique opportunity for you to recognize your customers and superb craftsmanship of your employees. The pieces entered in the competition will represent the finest printed materials produced by the leading printers and designers in this region of the country. Many companies use this as the first step in their quest of winning a “Benny”, the award given at the international competition, PIA Premier Print Awards. Members and non-members alike participate with the hope of winning the “Best in Show” award. There are several other top awards plus Best of Category, Award of Excellence and Award of Merit for each category in three different divisions. In April, the GEA banquet is held to announce the Best of Category, top division, special category and top show winners. The printing industry is well represented at the banquet with companies in attendance as well as their clients. The GEA Reception is one of the major annual industry events in this area.
Invest in Your Future:
Participate in the 2007 Graphic Excellence Awards Competition
Winning an award in the only regional print competition lets your customers know that your company is among the best in the business. This is a powerful incentive for the people who buy print to work with you. Incorporate your participation in the awards program in your marketing efforts to increase your success rate with potential and existing clients.
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How to make your Graphic Excellence Award work for you:
- Create a Promotional Mailer Kit for Your Existing Customers -- include a photograph of the winning piece along with a copy of the piece itself and perhaps an invitation to your own awards celebration.
- Notify Local Newspapers -- we will include a press release "template" that you can use to notify your local papers. PIGC will send a press release of the major winners to several of the national and regional trade publications.
- Create a Joint Print Ad with Your Customer -- this ad could feature the award and your winning entry along with a thank you to the companies and people involved in the project.
- Make Your Award Part of Your Marketing -- include the competition program logo and the words "Graphic Excellence Award Winner" on your business cards, signage, and print advertising.
- Create an announcement on your web site -- include the winning piece. You may even consider linking this to your customer's site.
- Print labels announcing your award, which can be used on your packages, brochure, quotes, and customer correspondence.
- Place an award announcement on your fax cover page
- Purchase t-shirts or other items and hand them out with an award announcement to your top customers or employees who worked on the project.
- Announce the award on your answering machine, voice mail, or pre-recorded message for your customers.
- If you have a company newsletter, feature the winning piece -- tell about how the job was produced and include quotes from various employee involved with the job.
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In addition, any Best of Category winner on up receives a complimentary entry for that piece in the Premier Print Awards competition. Premier Print, or more commonly known as The Bennys, is the prestigious international print competition through Printing Industries of America (PIA).
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Grover Printing Continues Hold on
Graphic Excellence Awards
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To the surprise of many, Houston’s Grover Printing captured an unprecedented fourth consecutive “Best In Show” award at the 22nd annual Graphic Excellence Awards Gala on April 17, 2008. Over 250 printing industry representatives, their clients, graphic designers, and guest gathered at the downtown Houston Club to celebrate the best in Houston area printing. The winning piece, a book (case bound), titled Willsbros Group: A Good Job on Time captured the top honor. A total of 336 pieces were entered in this year’s regional competition which encompasses the service area of Printing Industries of the Gulf Coast, the sponsor of the event.
Each entry was classified by Division depending on the size of the printer entering the piece. Printers with ten or less employees were placed in Division I, printers with 11 to 50 employees were placed in Division II and Division III consisted of printers with 51 or more employees. Categories within the Divisions mirrored the PIA Premier Print Awards classifications. Judging was conducted by a panel of printing experts who reside outside the competition area and had no knowledge of who printed what piece.
In the other Best in Show awards, RR Donnelley – Wetmore Plant from Houston, picked-up the 1st Runner-up Award, Southwest Precision Printers, LP, Houston earned the 2nd Runner-up Award while Page International, Houston was awarded the 3rd Runner-up trophy. Western Lithograph, Houston received the Best in Show Honorable Mention award.
The popular People’s Choice Award, selected by the attendees of the evening, went to Southwest Precision Printers, L.P. The winning piece was a book titled Home Court which utilized a white basketball shoe lace as a method to bind the book. As with last year, this was a closely contested vote with Gulfstream Graphics Corp. and Bayside Printing.
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Divisional Winners
Best in Division I went to 1 to 1 Printers, LLC for the second year in a row and Bart Nay Printing gained the Division I Gold Award. Minuteman Press - Post Oak took both the Division I Silver and Bronze Awards. All Division I winners are from the Houston area.
Grover Printing earned the Best in Division II top award along with the Division II Gold trophy. The Best in Division II Silver Award was presented to Gulfstream Graphics Corp. and the Best in Division II Bronze Award went to Bayside Printing. Again, all division award winners are from the Houston area.
Division III winners included RR Donnelley – Wetmore Plant with the Best in Division award, Southwest Precision Printers, L.P. with the Division III Gold Award, Page International with the Division III Silver Award and Western Lithographic with the Division III Bronze Award. This year, the judges elected to present an Honorable Mention award within the division and that went to Simon Printing. All division awards winners are from the Houston area.
Special and Regional Awards
The Judges’s Choice award was presented to Western Lithographic. The Best Use of Paper award was presented to Gulfstream Graphics Corp. and the Best Use of Ink was awarded to Page International. Recognized as the Best Inplant entry was the Houston Independent School District – Printing Services. Regional Award winners were Golden Banner Press in Corpus Christi and Newman Printing Company in Bryan/College Station.
Also recognized at the Gala were first time entrants in this year’s competition: Eaton Manufacturing, Golden Banner Press, Minuteman Printing & Graphics, Galveston; Printing X-Press, Simon Printing, TLS Graphics and University of Houston Printing & Postal Services.
Best of Category Winners
Within the Divisions, area printers took numerous Best of Category awards. In Division I, 1 to 1 Printers, Bart Nay Printing, Encore PrintStore in Katy, Lee Printing, Minuteman Press – Museum District, Minuteman Press – Post Oak, Minuteman Printing & Graphics, Galveston, and TLS Graphics, South Houston made a strong showing. Division II Best of Category winners included, Alliance Graphics & Printing, Bayside Printing, Eaton Manufacturing, Golden Banner Press in Corpus Christi, Grover Printing, Gulfstream Graphics Corporation, Houston Independent School District – Printing Services, ImageSet Digital, Newman Printing, Pamela Printing in Sugar Land, Printing X-Press, Southeast Media, University of Houston Printing and Postal Services and Wright’s Printing in The Woodlands. Page International, PrintMailers, Inc., RR Donnelley –Wetmore Plant, Simon Printing, Southwest Precision Printers, LP, and Western Lithograph lead the list of Division III Best of Category winners.
All Best of Category winners in the 2008 Graphic Excellence Awards competition will be eligible to enter their winning piece, free of charge, in PIA’s Premier Print Awards (The Benny’s) and compete on a national level. For more information on 2008 GEA winners and the Premier Print Awards, please call Printing Industries of the Gulf Coast at (713) 522-2046 or (800) 448-5930. |
Southwest Precision Printers is still the
“People’s Choice”
Once again, Southwest Precision Printers collected the prestigious People’s Choice award at the 22nd Annual Graphic Excellence Awards Gala. This award, in its second year, is unusual as the attendees of the GEA event vote for their favorite piece at the evening event. Votes are collected and tabulated leading to a run-off with the top three pieces. The run-off vote historically has been very close and this year was no different.
The top three pieces as selected by the attendees were: from Bayside Printing Company a poster titled “Huntington Art Prizes” from the Art Reproduction category; a Gulfstream Graphics Corp. poster titled “Home of the 12th Man” from the Posters (litho) category; and “Home Court” from Southwest Precision Printers, L.P. entered in the Books (paper cover-perfect/lay flat) category. The winning piece consisted of numerous black & white photos of basketball courts throughout the country from backyards to alleys to playgrounds, or wherever a basketball hoop could be erected or hung. The binding was unusual as a basketball shoe lace held the book together; the cover was a simple die cut showcasing a basketball hoop. It must be noted that all three pieces won Best of Category awards in their respective categories.
Congratulations Southwest Precision Printers, L.P., Bayside Printing Company and Gulfstream graphics Corp.
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2006 Graphic Excellence Winners
Click Here to view the 2005 Graphic Excellence Awards Presentation
Click Here to view the 2004 Graphic Excellence Awards Presentation
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Photos of the event by 