PALM SPRINGS, CA -- March 25, 2002 -- Four digital graphics industry products have won the DPI 2002 Product-of-the-Year award in a competition sponsored by the Digital Printing & Imaging Association (DPI). Announcement of this year’s winners came during the Association’s tenth Annual Conference & Exhibit, held here March 6-9. Product-of-the-Year, Software & Related Systems – Caldera ReproShop, a product of Xerox Engineering Systems (XES) (Stamford, CT), won this category. ReproShop is a complete large format solution, from scanning, networking, workflow and RIP'ing to editing and printing – a single solution from a one-user program. Product-of-the-Year, Media – PrintLam, a product of Rexam Image Products (South Hadley, MA), won this category. PrintLam is a thin, clear, polyester film that has a revolutionary inkjet receiver coating with a built-in, thermally activated adhesive that can adhere to rigid boards, resulting in a time-saving one-stop print-and-mount solution. Product-of-the-Year, Output Devices – Kodak Professional 5260 Inkjet Printer, a product of ENCAD, Inc.-a Kodak Company (San Diego, CA), won this category. The 520 printer is a high-speed, wide-format inkjet printer that employs piezo print head technology, six colors and Dynamic Contone printing, which delivers five distinct drop sizes over an extended range (8 pl to 67 pl) on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The result is a unique combination of quality output (up to 500 square feet per hour) at 300 dpi with an apparent resolution three to four times higher. Product of the Year, Finishing – i-cut System, a product of Mikkelson Graphic Engineering, Inc. (MGE) (Lake Geneva, WI) won this category. The i-cut digital cutting system is for cutting/finishing digital or screen-printed graphics on many substrates. The system offers a full range of automation for processing rolls and sheets with minimal operator involvement. Sponsored by the Digital Printing & Imaging Association, DPI's 2002 Product-of-the-Year Competition honors those digital imaging products having major and beneficial impact on the industry during the year 2001. Any company in the digital graphics industry was invited to recommend a product or products, as a Product-of-the-Year nominee. To be eligible for consideration, the product must have been manufactured by a firm that is exhibiting at the DPI '02 and be on display at the trade show. Manufacturers could nominate as many of their eligible products as they wished, or their products could have been nominated by others. Manufacturers of nominated products provided details about their products for review by the judges, from applications and specifications to features and unique characteristics. To be eligible, the product in question must have been in actual production with installation and commercial use during the calendar year ending December 31, 2001. Twenty-two products were entered in the competition. Evaluation of entries was made during the Conference, and winners were chosen by industry peers (DPI members) who examined the nominated products in the exhibition booths during the course of exhibit hours. Winners received their trophies at the DPI Friday Night Turf Club Party on March 8. For more information, contact Association headquarters: 10015 Main Street, Fairfax, VA 22031-3489 USA. Telephone: (703) 385-1339. Fax: (703) 359-1336. E-mail: [email protected]. Internet: www.dpia.org