ALEXANDRIA, VA (March 1, 2001) PIA announces the kickoff of the 2001 Premier Print Awards, the largest, oldest and most prestigious worldwide graphic arts competition. The Premier Print Awards promotes excellence in the graphic arts industry and recognizes companies and individuals who produce the best in print media. In 2000, PIA received over 5,000 entries from 744 companies and 14 countries worldwide. Eighty-eight of these entries were selected by the judges as Best of Category and received the coveted Benny. Based on interest displayed by past participants the 2001 Premier Print Awards will include Magazine Series as a new category and reintroduce Single Sheet Broadsides, which was removed from the competition a few years ago. The 2000 Premier Print Awards competition is open to any individual, business or organization involved in the creation or production of print communications. The competition promotes excellence in the industry and recognizes companies and individuals who produce the best in print media. The deadline is May 25, 2001. Winners will be notified in mid July and the awards gala will be September 7th in Chicago. The 2001 competition is sponsored by Heidelberg, Kodak Polychrome Graphics, Sun Chemical Corporation and Utica National Insurance Group.