The PrintWeek Awards are the industry’s flagship awards programme, judged by leading print buyers – giving them an unrivalled reputation as the only awards that matter.

With 24 categories ranging from business performance awards like Company of the Year, SME of the Year, Environmental Company of the Year and Cross-media company of the year, to quality awards in 18 different disciplines, the chances are that there’s a category that represents the ideal showcase for your business.

For details on the categories and how to enter, visit printweekawards.com

But what’s the value of winning a PrintWeek Award? Sure, you get a great night out with top-notch entertainment, but where’s the return on investment?

"I think winning an award just reinforces to our clients or prospects that they don’t have to just take our word for it on how good we are, it’s industry recognised," said Noel Warner, chief executive of last year’s Cross-media Company of the Year Inc Direct.

"When we position the PrintWeek Awards to our clients, we explain that they’re the Oscars of the industry. Just to be shortlisted is fantastic, but to win an award is like winning best film – especially when we show them the calibre of buyers that are on the judging panels," he added.

This was echoed by Chris Cooper, managing director of Hampton Printing (Bristol), last year’s Brochure Printer of the Year: "From our point of view we’re well known for quality, but it goes down extremely well with clients to win an award like this. It encourages clients to be loyal to a degree, but it’s also a reward for the team here and further boosts staff morale."

The final word on the value of winning a PrintWeek Award goes to David Laybourne, managing director of last year’s Company of the Year Real Digital International.

"It felt like we had come of age and that even our rivals had to take notice and admit that we had made it and were a good business. You don’t get that sort of recognition in any other way – I was honestly taken aback by how genuinely pleased the whole Real Digital team was about the award – and I was incredibly proud of all 133 of them.

"I know it sounds glib, but I’m proud to be part of a business like this, because I would hate to be part of one where no one cares."

So if you haven’t entered the PrintWeek Awards yet, the only question is: how much do you care about your business?

For more information on entering, visit printweekawards.com or contact event manager Ed Wyre on 020 7501 6742.