Feb. 18 2008 - The CIPPI awards provide international recognition to printers, publishers and prepress services that have implemented exceptional print production process automation programs. This program is open to all printer, publishers and prepress services, regardless of membership status with CIP4.

There have been some key changes to the program this year. First of all, the awards this year will be presented at a dinner reception in the drupa Innovations parc, at the main DIP stage, on the evening of June 4th. Secondly, the awards program itself has been revised so that one application will now be considered by the Judges for all applicable categories, and those categories have been changed to include new regional awards. The award categories are ...

- First & Second Place — Best cost/benefit realization and improvement in efficiency as a result of process automation implementation
- First & Second Place — Biggest improvement in quality production & customer responsiveness as a result of process automation
- Most innovative use of process automation technology in an implementation
- Best Process Automation Implementation — Europe
- Best Process Automation Implementation — North America
- Best Process Automation Implementation — Asia Pacific
- Best Process Automation Implementation — Emerging Markets *

* The interpretation of "Emerging Markets" is at the discretion of the Review Panel Judges.

These changes have been made to encourage broader participation and to recognize regional differences in technology adoption and technology localization issues.

Companies that have won these awards in the past three years have benefited greatly from their recognition. The CIPPI awards have proven of great value to both the winning printers and the vendors that support them, and for CIP4 and the printing industry as a whole, the awards have provided concrete answers and examples for prospective JDF users looking for guidance and direction.

Applications are due March 20th and further information about the awards program, including information on Review Panel Judges and example case studies from winners in previous years, can be found at www.cip4.org/cippi/. If you have any questions about the CIPPI awards program, please don't hesitate to contact CIP4's Executive Director, James Harvey at [email protected] or via telephone at +1-410-451-5040.