Chicago, IL – The opportunity to enter GPA’s 2016 Print & Design Contest will end in a few short weeks; October 31 is the deadline for GPA to receive all entries. With less than two weeks left to enter, participants still have time to compete to win prizes and industry recognition. Now in its 11^th year, the contest continues GPA’s tradition of honoring excellence and creativity in printing, showcasing exciting examples of opportunities available with GPA substrates. 

For a printed piece to be eligible, it must be from an actual job or promotion that was printed by a GPA customer on a qualified GPA substrate within the past year. There is no entry fee, and participants are encouraged to submit as many entries as they like. This year, GPA restructured their entry categories into the following six segments:

• Pressure Sensitive Synthetics
• Non-Adhesive Synthetics
• Pressure Sensitive Papers
• Papers: Coated & Uncoated Papers, C1S & C2S Boards
• Papers: Specialty Fine Papers, Pre-Converted Substrates
• Wide Format Substrates

From each of the six categories, a Best of Category winner is selected; from those six, one is chosen as Best of Show. Also new to this year’s contest is the Award of Distinction, which will recognize six entries that made a lasting impression on judges, but did not win Best of Category or Best of Show. All contest winners will be announced in January 2017.

A panel of industry experts will evaluate each entry on uniqueness of design, application use, quality of printing, and complexity of product. Representing different areas of concentration within the graphic arts industry, this year’s panel includes:

•  Gary Greis – Sales Manager at Graphco
•  Kari Somers – Dean of Students at Columbia College Chicago
•  Michael Johnston – President of Top Graphics
• Trish Witkowski – Chief Folding Fanatic at Foldfactory

To enter or learn about official contest rules and requirements, visit http://contest.askgpa.com.