The huge success of the Queensland PICAs is breathing new life into the state awards, which were thought to be on their last legs as the revamped National Print Awards returns to direct entry for next year.

Entries rose by 40 per cent from last year and double the number of printers submitted work for consideration, while guests had nothing but praise for the event and its organisers.

The Qld event, which along with WA and Tasmania was kept on the calendar as it was already planned when the announcement was made in June, was expected to be the swansong for state-level awards as the industry wrestles with declining revenues.

PIAA chief executive Bill Healey, who attended the Qld and Tasmanian awards on consecutive nights last weekend, says he is happy to keep the PICAs as standalone events if the states can self-finance them.

“There are ways the events can be maintained with the hard work of staff, and I think the great engagement of the Qld organisers with members was a big factor in its success,” he says.

“These events play a key role in facilitating networking and it seems the state members don’t want to let them die.”

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Healey says state awards would be assessed for viability by state managers on a year-by-year basis and must be able to break even without dipping into printers’ pockets.

However, he says other states may have a hard time joining WA, Qld and Tasmania as an SA event would be unlikely to turn a profit this year, and he doubts NSW or Victoria will host their own awards any time soon.

“I’m excited about what’s possible, but states must have the resources to support them and if they die they die,” he says.

He says regardless of whether PICAs continue, there should be a large-scale yearly networking event of some kind to bring printers closer together.

The awards are also seeing big changes in format. Now that gold winners are no longer automatically shortlisted for the NPAs, states are free to experiment with broadening the awards format and streamlining categories to stop events dragging on.

Categories for the Qld awards was cut from 32 to 23 and included unprecedented collaboration with Australian Graphic Design Association and the Design Institute of Australia to include awards for outstanding design.

Tasmania went a few steps further, adding entire sections of awards for not only design but websites, mobile apps, multi-channel campaigns, and other digital work.

The Apple Isle has also broken the mould by completely rebranding itself as the Diemen Awards, with gold awards now called Diemens, making it a truly state-focused competition.

Healey praised the inclusion of categories outside traditional printing areas as recognising the necessary evolution of the printing industry.

“It is consistent with the PIAA’s vision of promoting the industry as a provider of multi-channel communication,” he says.

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The events themselves are changing as well, with the main problem always being cost as lower equipment sales by manufacturers leaves less money available for award sponsorship.

Gone are the days of glitzy galas at five-star hotels – the new-look PICAs are shifting to less expensive but still high-class venues such as golf clubs and cocktail rooms.

The WA awards have moved away from having a luminary to MC and are using 'two local guys who have a flair for this stuff' the organisers think will do a great job.

“We don’t have buckets of money to finance two levels of awards at a local level, so it’s good to see that state associations can continue them with streamlining,” Healey says.

Changes to state awards are likely to influence the revamped NPAs, with the Qld category list touted by those in the know as a model likely to shape the soon-to-be-announced 2015 NPA list.

Healey says tickets to the awards are likely to be much cheaper than the $175 they cost this year, to make them ‘more accessible and inclusive’ for cash-strapped printers.

“I think the state awards are more about networking, while the NPAs will increasingly be about showcasing print as an industry and a product,” he says.

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