The PrintWeek Awards are the greatest and most sought-after awards in the print industry. They celebrate the magic of print, and our judging panel,

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1 The PrintWeek Awards are the greatest and most sought-after awards in the print industry. They celebrate the magic of print, and our judging panel, made up of more than 20 leading print buyers and experts in their fields, is looking forward to being enchanted by some of the awe-inspiring projects you and your team have completed over the past 12 months. We know that good print isn t wizardry it takes a lot of work and effort from your team. And the PrintWeek Awards are the perfect platform to cast your spell from and show potential clients what a magical supplier you really are. However, winning a PrintWeek Award isn t easy. It s the highest accolade in UK print, after all. So, over the following pages we have highlighted some of the simple steps you can take to give your business the best possible chance of joining the magic circle of PrintWeek Awards winners.

2 HOW TO ENTER THE CATEGORIES There are two types of Award: the Quality Awards, which judge the quality of output from different sectors (such as direct mail, labels, magazines and posters) and the Performance Awards, which are judged on financial or strategic performance, capital investment and training programmes. Overall there are 25 categories and you can enter as many as you wish (although only once in each category). First of all, you need to decide which of the categories on the facing page you wish to enter. Then simply visit the awards website and click on the Categories 2018 link and when you are ready to make your entry, click on the Enter Now button. You will be asked to fill in your contact details to register your entry. You can then select which category/ ies you wish to enter. Once registered, you may log out and sign in again at a later date to complete your entry. Performance Awards For the Performance Awards categories, you are required to write and upload a 500-word summary. Depending on the category, you will also be required to supply supporting material. Your summary should include a brief introduction to the company, the challenges involved and goals achieved, plus the supporting documents required for your specific category. Quality Awards For the Quality Awards categories, you are required to send in one copy of four different printed samples, and write and upload a 250-word production summary for each. Please ensure these four samples represent a variety of the work you do. Once you have uploaded all your documents, you will receive a confirmation . When you receive this, print it off and send it with your samples to the address in the . If your entry is especially large, please contact the awards team on to discuss the best way to deliver. Go to to enter Full criteria is available by visiting and clicking on the relevant category Performance Awards These are the business awards, which are judged on hard evidence (financial results, response rates, case studies, etc). The categories are: Company of the Year SME of the year Environmental company of the year Cross-media company of the year Customer service team of the year Marketing campaign of the year Trainee of the year Quality Awards are awarded for the work you produce and are judged on real jobs for real clients that you have produced. The categories are: Bespoke digital printer of the year Bespoke magazine printer of the year Book printer of the year Brochure printer of the year Catalogue printer of the year Direct mail printer of the year Fine art printer of the year FMCG packaging printer of the year High-volume magazine printer of the year Industrial digital printer of the year Label printer of the year Luxury packaging printer of the year Newspaper printer of the year Out-of-home printer of the year Point-of-purchase (POP) printer of the year Post-press company of the year Report & accounts printer of the year Social stationery printer of the year Being able to achieve continual improvements in our environmental programme is a direct consequence of staff engagement, winning the Environmental Printer of the Year is a powerful reward to our team for their involvement and commitment. Alison Branch Managing director, Park Communications Winning a PrintWeek Award has hugely enthused and energised our staff and gives our customers some added reassurance that they re working with the right print company. It s regarded as the highest honour amongst the trade. Paul Manning Managing director, Rapidity It meant the world to our whole team to be recognised at the premier UK print awards. Gary White Managing director, Northside Graphics The PrintWeek Awards are a bit like the FA Cup competition, providing a platform for smaller businesses to compete against larger ones. Success measured on quality of production demonstrates not all print is the same. Fenton Smith Managing director, Boss Print

3 THE BENEFITS TOP TIPS Why you should enter The PrintWeek Awards are the industry s flagship awards scheme and culminate in the largest awards dinner in the industry, where the winners are unveiled before 900-plus guests. The awards are independently judged by more than 20 leading print buyers and industry experts. Our valued sponsors simply support the awards because they believe in celebrating the best the industry has to offer, they have no input in the judging process. And because we think an entry should be judged on a body of work, not just one sample, entries consist of four different samples. This is why the PrintWeek Awards are the most credible in print, but don t take our word for it ask your customers. The benefits of entering It boosts morale among staff to know their employer is proud of the work they produce Customers and prospective customers will know that they are working with a company that aspires to the highest standards The benefits of being shortlisted Your name is published in the Awards shortlist, online and in print, where it can be seen by thousands of potential customers You can use the PrintWeek Awards shortlisted company logo on your website and all marketing material online and in print The benefits of being highly commended Your company name, a write-up on your entry and your contact details are published in PrintWeek Awards brochure in print and also online which singles out your company to thousands of potential customers as one of the leading companies in your field You can use the PrintWeek Awards Highly Commended company logo The benefits of winning an Award You are beyond any doubt recognised as the leading company in your field bar none You are lauded in front of 900 peers and potential customers at the October awards dinner You receive one of PrintWeek s hallowed Prism trophies You can use the PrintWeek Awards Winner logo Looking for an edge to maximise your chances of winning? Read what our judges have to say about entries worthy of a PrintWeek Prism Quality Awards Please, please make sure that your samples are pristine. There s nothing worse than looking at an entry that you know was probably fantastic but is blighted by a hickey or scratches or is dog-eared from a few months in the samples cupboard Think of your four samples as a collective, we like to see a breadth of samples, not four different examples of very similar jobs Ask your production team for their input. If a sample is decidedly average, we re not impressed just because it was for a big brand. We want to see the jobs that were challenging from a production perspective Highlight the challenges that were overcome in your 250 word summary, the tight deadlines, the challenging substrates anything that you think made the job special. BUT don t forget to mention the kit you used some of us like to know these things We re just as likely to be impressed by a seemingly standard job flawlessly produced on the tightest of budgets to impossible deadlines as a job with a money no object production value. We re looking for clever print, not expensive print Read the rules carefully and make sure that you have submitted all the information asked for, because if we don t have enough info to go on, you won t make it onto the shortlist While we re judging on the samples you submit, it s always nice to read some glowing client testimonials too Performance Awards For the categories that require your financials [SME and Company of the year], while we need your numbers for the judging period [1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018] it always helps if you supply prior years too, especially if these demonstrate growth Don t worry if your financial year falls outside of the judging period, we re more than happy to see management accounts and P&Ls for the missing months In the Cross-media and Marketing campaign categories, don t forget to include the campaign results if they had a great ROI we like to hear about it Think of your 500 summary as just that, a summary, and use it to refer to supporting evidence in your entry the more information you supply the better The PrintWeek Awards are one of the most respected in the industry, recognising small businesses alongside global brands. It really is hugely rewarding to be recognised by the industry, especially as a small business, and a fantastic morale boost for the team. Helen Sharland Director, Cutture It is great for our profile and definitively helps put a tick in the box for clients looking for an innovative business partner. Jeremy Walters Chief executive, Paragon Customer Communication Winning a PrintWeek Award is a great third-party endorsement for the quality of our work and over the years has opened up doors to new opportunities as well as cementing our existing customers view of us. Richard Osborne Managing director, Pureprint Group Our brilliant customer services team were thrilled when their efforts were recognised at the industry s top awards. The win also cemented customer relationships - as now it s official - they are being served by the best! Sheree Mercer-Bowell Group client communications director, Go Inspire Group

4 FAQS Here are some of the frequently asked questions about the PrintWeek Awards. If your question is not answered here, please get in touch with the awards team on , who will be happy to help. What is the confidentiality policy for entries? All submitted material will remain confidential to the judges and the judges cannot remove any material from the judging venue. However, winning entries will be published in the awards brochure. So, please highlight on your entry any sensitive information that should not be reproduced. Do I need to get client approval to submit one of their jobs? That is entirely up to you (see above), but most likely your client will be chuffed to know that you were so pleased with their job you have entered it into a prestigious awards scheme so why not? When is the closing date for entries? The standard deadline is 6 July, but the extended deadline is 16 July. Please note samples must reach us by Friday 20 July How much does it cost to enter? For entries submitted online or before 6 July, the fee is 170 per entry. The fee for entries after this date is 200. Who is eligible to enter? The PrintWeek Awards are open to any UK-based print business directly involved in the production of print. Equipment manufacturers are not eligible. If you have any queries relating to your business s eligibility, please contact the awards team. What is the eligibility period? Performance Awards - April 2017 to the end of March 2018 Quality Awards entries must have been printed since 1 July 2017 Can the same entry be entered into more than one category? Yes, you can enter the same work into as many relevant categories (only one entry per category though). Remember, each category has different criteria so your written submission may need to be amended accordingly. Where do I send my print samples? PrintWeek Awards Mark Allen Group, Unit C1, Dinton Business Park, Catherine Ford Road, Dinton, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5HZ Does my uploaded summary have to be submitted in Microsoft Word? No, PDF documents can be submitted as long as the entry does not exceed 50MB. How many copies of my samples should I send? Just one copy of each sample. Should I label up my samples? No. Please do not mark your samples in any way. That includes company logos, sticky labels or anything that could identify you to the judging panel. Which category should I enter? How do I know if it is suitable? Contact the awards team Will I be able to collect my supporting material after the Awards? Yes. Collection may be arranged by applying to the event manager at the time of entry. Support material will be held until 16 November 2018, and disposed of afterwards unless collection is organised. Please note entries to the Point-ofpurchase Printer of the Year category cannot be returned. Can I amend an entry after submitting? Yes, up until the final closing date - simply log into the awards website and amend your entry. When will the final shortlist be announced? The final shortlist will be announced in the 3 September issue of PrintWeek. s will also be sent out to notify entrants of the shortlist. When will the results be announced? The results will be announced at the awards ceremony on Monday 22 October. Where is the awards dinner? It is held at Grosvenor House hotel, Park Lane, London, in the Great Room, one of the largest ballrooms in Europe. KEY DATES 6 July 2018 Entry deadline 16 July 2018 Extended entry deadline* 20 July 2018 Samples delivery deadline August 2018 Judging September 2018 Shortlist announced 22 October 2018 Ceremony *Higher entry fee If you want to win an award then it is a PrintWeek Award that you want to win because so many businesses enter them. Being able to show prospective new clients that you have won gives another reason for them to trust you and give you that first chance. Sam Neal Managing director, Geoff Neal We were absolutely ecstatic to win such a prestigious accolade against some strong competition. Ken Calderwood Commercial manager, Mortons Print of Horncastle Winning one of Printweek s prestigious awards has a positive impact both on employees and clients alike. For the team at Screaming Colour it is recognition for their creativity, hard work and determination. For clients and potentials clients it helps differentiate us. Iain Moring Managing director, Screaming Colour We enter the PrintWeek Awards to challenge ourselves, and let our clients know what we can do. We also see these awards as an opportunity for our staff to show their passion and expertise. It s great to see them recognised by experts in our industry. Lascelle Barrow Co-owner, Augustus Martin

5 THE PRINTWEEK AWARDS ARE OPEN AND WAITING FOR YOUR ENTRY Deadline 6 July For full details visit or call or printweekawards@markallengroup.com #PrintWeekAwards Sponsored by