SANTA ANA, California, December 17, 2001 -- The Printing Industries Association, Inc. of Southern California (PIASC) has named Patrick Marchese as its Pioneer of the Year. The award will be presented at the Association's annual awards banquet - The Graphics Gala - on February 23, 2002, at Pacific Palms Conference Resort in the City of Industry. The award recognizes individuals who originate or take part in the development of innovative business methods, whether technical or educational, in the graphic arts industry. Previous winners include Orville Dutro, Bob Gans, Ernie Lindner, Jonathan W. Seybold, Elliot and Bennett Derman, and Urban Hirsch. Marchese is the founder behind Markzware, the preflight technology pioneer, which markets FLIGHTCHECK to a publishing industry that appreciates the value of scrutinizing digital files prior to output. Marchese, whose father and grandfather had experience in the printing industry, began his career as an apprentice printer in the early 1980s at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. In 1983, to further his education, he moved to Orange County and attended Fullerton College with a focus in art and at the same time began to learn typesetting. A year later he started his own typesetting business. In the late 1980s, while working for a small specialty newspaper, Marchese met his partner Ron Crandall. This partnership started by creating QuarkXTensions. In 1989, Marchese accepted a job at Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agency as an ad designer. His responsibilities were for the output of ads and proofing the digital components; this laborious and time-consuming process lead to the idea and creation of FlightCheck, which was introduced in 1995 at Seybold Seminars in San Francisco. Since then, this software has received numerous awards. Because of his innovation, digital prepress has really fulfilled its promise for the printing industry. Marchese in his spare time enjoys fast cars, downhill skiing, adventures in worldwide travel and music. About PIASC PIASC is the trade association for the printing industry in the greater Los Angeles area. With over 2,000 company members, it is the largest affiliate of Printing Industries of America -- the national trade association for the printing and graphic arts industry.