The Graphic Arts Association has named Lawrence Wilks as the 2009 Neographics "Craftsperson of the Year."  Larry will receive this award of recognition at the Neographics dinner and awards ceremony on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at the Union League, 140 S. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA at 7:00 p.m.

In 1969, at the age of 13, Larry was introduced to the craft of printing by a neighbor who had a small print shop. He was taught to set lead type and to run a hand fed letterpress, later learning to run a small offset press. This introduction led to a life-long passion for printing.

At the age of 16, Larry had the opportunity to take part in the graphic arts course at the Eastern Montgomery County Area Vocational-Technical School. His class was the first ever to produce a 36-page + cover year book. The following year, as a senior at Hatboro-Horsham High School, Larry was one of only a handful of students to be selected for the school's co-op program.  Through this program, he worked half days at a local quick print shop while finishing his high school education.

After graduating in 1974, he operated a part time printing business called Dynamic Printing from his parents' basement. By 1976, he grew his business to full-time, and Dynamic Printing moved to a 750 square foot building in Horsham. In 1986, he expanded the business yet again.

Dynamic Printing was known for its exceptional quality and craftsmanship. Larry selected and maintained  top-of-the-line  Heidelberg machinery, always keeping up with the latest technologies. Not only did Dynamic Printing grow quickly into quality full-color printing, but it also maintained Larry's original roots by always offering high quality letterpress work, such as embossing, foil stamping and die-cutting.

Larry's high standards and craftsmanship showed through in every project produced by Dynamic Printing, and it was with great pride that he sold Dynamic Printing to Astro Printing Inc. in 2003. With these two companies having the same unwavering commitment to quality and craftsmanship in mind, the result became Astro-Dynamic Print & Graphic Services, an ever-growing, quality-oriented company. To this day, Larry's employment at Astro-Dynamic allows him to utilize his 40 years of skills and craftsmanship in the industry to continue creating exceptional quality products.

The Graphic Arts Association is the only regional trade association for the printing industry in Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.  The mission of the Graphic Arts Association is to be the leading resource for the printing and graphic communications industry in advocacy, education and information to enhance the strength and profitability of its members.