The ensemble of 407 entries with 1,632 samples from 137 print firms – a record number – were spread and the action was in full force on 29 July during the judging process for PrintWeek India Awards 2011 at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. Canon is the main title sponsor for the third edition of Awards 2011.

The enthusiastic 29-member jury, an all-new independent panel drawn from the full spectrum of print discipline comprising print buyers, professional and designers, were split into four groups to sift through the entries in 18 Quality Awards and six Performance Awards categories, which were further grouped.

The sheer number of entries was significantly up and the general quality also better than in the previous years. "It was quite impressive to see the response as well as the standard of printing at PrintWeek India Awards. Almost every entry had value addition. Going by this, I am sure in future the task of judging will be more and more difficult," says Kiran Prayagi, a member of last year’s jury and a guest invited to visit the PrintWeek India Awards gallery.

"Having a new team of judges, particularly print buyers and designers, give a different perspective when looking at the quality of print and finishing and the judges did point out that the quality of the entries in particular was very high with these entries," says Suresh Ramakrishnan, director at Haymarket Media and publisher of PrintWeek India.

Vibhuti Patki, manager for product marketing at Hafele India and a judge was complimentary about the overall quality of the entries. "The entries submitted by printers represented the whole gamut of capabilities that is possible with print today. It is obvious that printers have spent time on and thought about what they are doing when sending these very professional entries."

Another judge for the Awards, Sherebanu Baldiwala, design director of Landor was particularly impressed by the entries when judging the Innovations and Posters categories. "The samples that I evaluated were extremely attractive. Also, they were highly innovative and the ideas exceptional, out of the ordinary."

Techniques and innovation
Want good print, print four-colour. In the past, these, and other laudable but disparate goals by the print buyers, would often force printers to deliver the requirements. Not anymore. The entries clearly indicate that there is an increased emphasis on details, use of material, engaging visuals, uncluttered layout, use of coating, UV coating, die-cutting or just laser cutting.

And keeping in line with the trend among print buyers for innovation and packaging, the Innovative Printer of the Year, Packaging Printer of the Year, Book Printer of the Year and Digital Printer of the Year categories were heavily subscribed. Technology was clearly put to use in innovatively producing the printed product be it in packaging, a functional performing calendar, a brochure or an annual report.

According to Soma Roy, a jury member and senior executive for packaging development at Parle Agro, technology, which besides enhancing quality, also improves productive. "As judges, it’s always exciting to see great ideas and innovations that lead to significant improvements in quality. It’s not easy to choose winners and it should be noted that congratulations are in order for all the entrants. Each and every entry clearly demonstrated creativity, use of technology and hard work," she says.
 
Still need print
There’s a debate that with online, digital media digressing into communication media and environmental issues compounding matters, is print still turning heads?  "Yes, it is, and I need my share of print when I am on the beach, on my bed or in the bathroom," says Prashant Devatraj, country head at Ergo India and a judge. "Here, at the PrintWeek India Awards, we have seen that print is still as inventive and vibrant as ever." He goes a step ahead and says, "Print may even be flourishing, with designers and printers striving to add that touch to make print attractive for clients, who still want that something to make that products stand out."

The Awards Night will return on 25 August at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, where the winners will be honoured.

List of jury members

Bina Sarkar Ellias, editor/publisher, Gallerie Publishers

G V Sreekumar, Industrial Design Centre

Mary Therese Kurkalang, manager: projects and marketing, German Book Office

Rajiv Rao, NCD, Ogilvy

Ranjiv Nair, head of print procurement department, Sahara India Parivar

Subhasis Ganguli, vice president for production, Pearson India Group

Suparna Mitra, global marketing head, Titan Industries

Joeanna Rebello Fernandes, special correspondent, Bennett Coleman & Co

N K Ramprasad, vice president for print and production, Citibank

Rajesh Kulkarni, creative director, Red Lion (Publicis)

Sherebanu Baldiwala, design director, Landor Associates

V K Narayanan, general manager, Crompton Greaves

Vibhuti Patki, manager - product marketing, Hafele India

David de Souza, photographer

Harjeet Chhabra, vice president – marketing, Multi Screen Media (SAB TV)

Payal Khandelwal, principal correspondent, Financial Express

Prashant Devatraj, country head, Ergo India

Samera Khan, Euro RSCG India

Vikram Gaikwad, partner, Creativeland Asia

Biswajit Basu, head-packaging development, Abbott India

Chinmaya Dandekar, Godrej Consumer Products

Huzefa Kanorwala, India and ME country manager, HH Print Management India

Maneesh Sharma, head packaging development, Marico

Minakshi Achan, co-founder, Salt Brand Solutions

Jaswinder Dhadda, R&D manager packaging development, Cadbury India

Soma Roy, senior executive – packaging development, Parle Agro

Ramu Ramanathan, group editor, Haymarket Media

Noel D'cunha, deputy editor, PrintWeek India