Click here to view our photo gallery from the night.

Knox beat out competition from seven other nominees to take the award, earning herself a shot at the GAMAA-LIA National Graduate Scholarship Prize, which will be awarded next year.

Heidelberg’s Greg Grace, one of the judges for the award, said that competition was incredibly tight, with only four points out 400 separating the top four nominees.

Knox (second from left), who works as a screen and digital printing co-ordinator at Mills Styrox’s Sydney plant, told ProPrint she was “lost for words” when she won the award.

“I was really surprised, I know how many great people there are out there, and they all work really hard,” she said.

Knox said she would use the award to help broaden her range of skills in the printing trade.

“I want to be good in all the different sectors of printing – screen, digital, pre-press – and have experience in all of them.”

Mills Styrox managing director Daniel Green described Knox as “not only a fantastic screen printer and a fantastic employee, but also a fantastic person”.

The other nominees were Sarah Donvito from Sinnott Bros, Ben Chamberlain from IntoPrint, Phillip Marshall from Amcor Cartons, Wayne Dorch from Pettaras Press, Tim Adams from STI Lilyfield, Chantell Bailey from Hann Print, and Marko Ristovski from Alfred Johns.

Meanwhile, at the annual general meeting of the LIA’s NSW division prior to the awards, GBC’s Ray Berwick was re-elected as president, while DS Chemport’s David Wells was appointed as vice-president, replacing Ben Hickey.

Denise Thompson was appointed as secretary, making her the first female secretary for the association. Mike Williams was also retained as treasurer.

Pictured (l-r): LIA NSW president Ray Berwick, Dayane Knox, Heidelberg’s Greg Grace, LIA federal president Grant Churchill

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