DIGITAL digest
PIA Launches Website Awards, Readies Program for Converge
PITTSBURGH—Billed as the industry’s first and only contest for printing industry Websites worldwide, the new web2awards program has been established by Printing Industries of America’s PIA) Digital Printing Council. The awards were created to recognize outstanding Websites in four categories: static company site, Web-to-print homegrown, Web-to-print licensed and the most unique product-specific site.
Winners will be recognized at the 2009 Converge Conference, which will run November 8-10 at the Hilton Bonnet Creek in Orlando (more details on the conference follow).
“Printers’ Websites have reached a level of sophistication and adoption that makes it imperative for the industry to recognize, honor and elevate companies that are achieving excellence with their online presence,” says Julie Shaffer,
vice president of digital technologies at PIA. “To that end, the Digital Printing Council conceived this new yearly competition with the intention of celebrating printers who are prospering using the Web and to help educate, through examples, as to what makes a great print-centric Website.”
The competition is open to anyone involved in designing, managing or implementing “print-centric” Websites. That means the site has to enable the sale/exchange of printed material and/or promote a printer’s capabilities on the Internet or an Intranet.
At press time, the competition was in the judging phase for this year’s edition. Judging the web2awards is a panel of educators, designers, Web programmers, e-commerce experts, marketers and industry consultants.
A unique aspect of the awards program is that all entrants receive valuable feedback via criteria scoring—overall design, structure and navigation, content, technology, ease of use and innovation—based on comparisons to other entrants. Winners will also be highlighted in a published case study, along with receiving a physical award statue and a digital replica.
For more information on the awards, visit www.printing.org/web2awards.
As for the Converge Conference, its theme will be “Next Generation of Print and Communication Service Providers.” Sessions will focus on ways companies are integrating the components of conventional and digital printing, personalized cross-media campaigns, Web technology, mailing services and more.
Communication expert and author Sue Hershkowitz-Coore will keynote the first day of the conference, offering practical advice on how to conduct a sales conversation regarding new marketing support ideas. Mark Stevens, CEO of management consulting and marketing firm MSCO, will be the other keynote speaker. He will share tactics on how to become marketing resources for clients. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) will also be offering a one-day version of its Direct Marketing Institute.
More information is available at www.printing.org/converge.
digital bytes
CHICAGO—Dscoop, the independent community of HP Indigo owners and operators, has announced its fifth annual conference. Dscoop5 will be held February 18-20, 2010, at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Dallas.
WASHINGTON, DC—CIP4 announced that its JDF Interoperability Matrix has topped 500 pairings. The matrix, which shows what integrations via JDF are available between vendors of graphic arts systems, can be viewed at www.cip4.org/matrix. PI
