The awards, which were designed to recognise "the leading lights of the wide format print community", recieved 6,000 votes stemming from 40 countries.

Thompson, from Miami-based AdGraphics, triumphed in this year's awards, followed by Kishore Musale of Classic Stripes in India and Birol Fedai of Turkey's Sistem Printing.

The remainder of the top five was completed by Keith Ferrel of Cactus Imaging in Australia and Simon Pless of Germany's Erler & Pless.

Duncan MacOwan, head of events and new media at Fespa said the Hall of Fame can be hailed as "an unbelievable success".

He added: "The number of nominations and votes far exceeded our expectations as printers voted in their droves from countries all over the world.

"It goes to prove once again the international audience that Fespa commands, and how valued these excellent printers are to our industry. The winner of this award must be very proud as this is an amazing accolade voted for by their peers."

To see who was crowned the Print Hall of Fame in each country, visit Fespa.com.