PRINTER news

Meridian Printing Wins Gold Award

NEW YORK CITY—Meridian Printing won the coveted 2003 Sappi North American Printer of the Year award at an elegant, black-tie awards gala held here on October 10.

The East Greenwich, RI-based printer was acclaimed for excellence of printing craftsmanship in its production of the "100 years of Harley Davidson" book, which was printed on 100-lb. Sappi Porcelain Dull Text paper. The 275,000-copy run—for publisher Melcher Media—was printed four-color process with varnish at 250 line screen on Meridian's Heidelberg CD sheetfed press.

As the Sappi North American Printer of the Year winner, Meridian received a trophy and a handcrafted gold medallion.

The event, appropriately held at the New York Public Library—the Big Apple's symbolic center of quality literature and printed works—was attended by an array of leading printers, both from the United States and from around the world, as well as representatives from the design industry.

The entertainment portion of the awards program, emceed by 1981 Miss America Diane Powell, featured Broadway hits by four of Broadway's hottest singer/actors.

Meridian was selected by an independent panel of highly respected judges, initially from more than 3,100 entries from over 600 North American and Canadian printers. Entries were judged in a number of categories, including: annual reports, books, brochures, catalogs, magazines and general.

Other North American finalists were Allied Printing Services, Classic Graphics, Woods Lithographics and Quebecor World (both the Jonesboro, AR, and Effingham, IL, divisions).

The award, deemed the Olympic gold medal of printing, was presented to Meridian President Robert Nangle and Executive Vice President Steven Lee by Sappi Ltd. CEO Jonathan Leslie.

"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," says Leslie.

Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented to printers in the four regions worldwide earlier in the year. The 23 gold medal winners constituted the finalists for the international award.

At the ceremony, Sappi named Fontegrafica, of Italy, the 2003 International Printer of the Year for its printing of an elaborate cosmetics book.

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 diecutting.

Monroe Litho, Rochester, NY, has promoted Barry Nasca and Paul Diesenberg. Nasca is now the postpress manager. He has worked for Monroe in a variety of positions since 1980. Diesenberg is the new production manager for Monroe. Prior to his new assignment, he served as a team leader within the company's production management structure.

The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) is bringing together a select group of printers for an invitation-only Industry Trends Analysis Group (I-TAG) to address the critical issues facing the printing industry. I-TAG participants will take part in research and surveys throughout the year and come together to strategize about four of the most pressing industry issues at a conference, held this month in Arlington, VA. An Executive Summary of the findings of the report will be available to NAPL members.

Nies/Artcraft has added six sales representatives to its new Lion Promotional Solutions, a division located in Valley Park, MO. Val Stark is leading the sales group that includes Sally Amaral, Mark Howard, Dan Muehlemann, Brian Shaffer and Larry Prescott.

Flottman Co., Crestview Hills, KY, is a finalist for the 2003 Tri-State Family Business of the Year Award, presented by the University of Cincinnati. Flottman was named a finalist in the under 100 employees category. This award honors family and private businesses that excel in strategic planning, innovation, leadership and community service.

Allegra Network, Troy, MI, recently teamed up with the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) to offer a strategic management course to its top franchise owners. It is said to be the first time NAPL and a printing franchise have partnered to offer any type of training program. Held in conjunction with NAPL's Management Institute at Northwestern University's Norris Center in Evanston, IL, the course was tailored specifically for the quick printing industry following a format similar to that of executive MBA programs conducted at leading business schools. The Strategic Management Course was the first in a series to be offered to franchise members as part of Allegra Network's Advanced Management Program.