The last year might not have generated too many reasons for celebration, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t any. As part of the re-emergence of the commercial print industry, the Digital Printer Awards are back and looking to accentuate the positive says Michael Walker
The return of live in-person events is one of the most eagerly anticipated stages of recovery from the pandemic. We’d like to think that the Digital Printer Awards is one of the things that people have been missing, and are delighted to announce that having had to skip 2020, it’s back for 2021.
Held at London’s Marriott Grosvenor Square, this year’s Digital Printer Awards will be the fourteenth, and, we hope, a welcome return to an industry calendar favourite.
It’s a chance for the industry to get together to celebrate great work that pushes the boundaries and inspires the raising of standards across the full gamut of commercial digital print. It’s also an excellent networking opportunity with partners, suppliers, peers – and even competitors. We all have a stake in the health of the industry and the more we can help each other by sharing ideas, contacts and experience, the better.
For many of us, just surviving the last year and still being in business might feel like a triumph. But that isn’t to say that some haven’t done great things despite the pandemic, or even because of it. Reflecting that we have expanded the awards categories for 2021, to include the Covid Recovery Award for the business that has best turned potential disaster into triumph.
That might mean identifying new products, markets or customers, or going above and beyond to help out in the local community by supporting the NHS or other businesses – something that you wouldn’t have done had the pandemic not occurred but which brought benefits.
Other new categories for 2021 are the Soft Signage Award and Digitally-Printed Textiles Award. It should be pretty obvious what the first is about, while the second aims to address the rapidly-growing field of décor, fabric and garment print. These are complemented by our established range of categories, which range from transactional and direct mail, books, finishing and creative use of substrates to added value, marketing collateral, sustainability and web-to-print.
What qualifies?
Acknowledging the fact that we couldn’t hold the Awards last year, we’re extending the eligibility period for qualifying work, projects or initiatives back to the beginning of September 2019, so if you did something before the pandemic that you might have submitted last year, you still can. And if you did submit something in 2020, we’ll enter it for the 2021 Digital Printer Awards automatically (unless you tell us not to, because you want to enter something even better!).
Entry is easy, and free. If you’re a registered reader of Digital Printer, you’ll receive an entry form with the next couple of issues. If you’re not registered, now might be a good time. Head to www.digitalprintermag.co.uk where you can register to receive Digital Printer magazine and its four annual supplements, or just register your interest in the Awards and we’ll contact you.
