Speaking before a boisterous 1,000 strong crowd in the Palladium ballroom, awards chairman Scott Telfer highlighted the important role the awards have played in the industry since their launch in 1983. He paid tribute to his predecessors; awards founder Syd Thompson and Alf Carrigan, and especially to the printers that had contributed over the years with an ever increasing print quality standard, He also thanked the sponsors, particularly highlighting two of the major sponsors, Heidelberg and Agfa, who have been with the Awards since their inception.
Telfer told the assembled host that this year's awards was likely to be the last in its current format, although he gave no hints of what is to come. The awards committee struggles to accept the constant chatter in the room, with the presentations and speeches seeming almost incidental to many tables, although many others accept that it will be so, given the celebratory nature of the event.
A quintet of printers took two golds each, including Manark, D&D Global, PMP, Scott Print and Sydney Allen, with a further 17 printers winning gold in various categories. All the big players were awarded medals, including PMP, Geon, BlueStar and Hannanprint.
The Heidelberg Award for Excellence to Craft went to Geon's Advance Press, which has recently become the group's first WA printer. The Agfa award for the use of imagery in print went to Sydney Allen. In keeping with tradition the biggest cheer of the night by far went to the winner of the PaperlinX award for best apprentice, which this year was Arron Miller from Lilyfield Printing, and Sydney Institute. His was also the only speech that the room was quiet for.
Most poignant moment of the night was the announcement that SEP Sprint had won gold, silver and bronze in the security category, as most people inside the awards room were aware that the company had collapsed just three weeks beforehand.
Presenters were Melbourne radio identity Jo Stanly, who was clearly wearing the highest heels of the evening, and comedian Peter Rowsthorne, best known as Brett in the hit TV show Kath & Kim. Entertainment was provided by String Angels, a high glamour all-girl electronic violin group, who were a huge improvement on last year's offering, of which the less said the better.
Next year's event, in whatever format it is finally produced, will be also held in Melbourne to coincide with Pacprint.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter