Entries for the 2020 AWA International Sleeve Label Awards were received and judged just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but announcement of the winners was delayed, taking place recently during the AWAVirtual™ International Sleeve Label Conference & Exhibition 2020 on 16 & 17 November 2020.

Heat-shrink sleeve labeling applications dominated the large number of entries received – a reflection of the technology’s current popularity in the packaging market. Judges Seamus Lafferty, President, Accraply; Rolf Montag, Product Manager Narrow Web for Siegwerk; and AWA’s Vice President, William Llewellyn combined their broad in-depth industry expertise to select the winners -- sleeving applications that demonstrated not only technology perfection and outstanding design, but also use of today’s leading-edge print enhancements.

‘Best in Show’

McDowell Label, Texas, USA, were not only winners in the Heat-shrink TD Sleeve category, but also as the ‘Best in Show’ for their labels on containers for Cellucor’s special 10th anniversary limited edition of C4 Dynasty pre-workout energy supplement. With a complex, highly-recognizable brand design and production excellence, the sleeve featured no less than ten colors, combination coatings, crisp-dot screen work, and two types of advanced holographic foiling.

Environmental Contribution Award

Earning the sleeve label award for an Environmental Contribution to Sustainable Packaging is Sleever International, for their first commercial application for their LDPET food-grade sleeve films, which are labeling PET-bottled San Pellegrino Essenza waters. The films’ transparency and premium printability are coupled with full compatibility with the clear PET recycling process – and the option to create food-grade R-PET -- and fully-approved by major international recycling associations. The judges considered this a worthy forward step in sleeve labeling’s environmental capabilities.

Certificates of Merit

The judges also awarded two Certificates of Merit in the Heat-shrink TD Sleeve category. Masterpress of Poland earned their certificate for hybrid-printed luxurious Formula One racing ‘Grand Prix Limited Edition’ bottle labels on Stock Prestige Vodka which, appropriately, featured a top-to-bottom soft-touch rubber-tire surface effect.

Also recognized with a Certificate of Merit were Fast Track Packaging of Guelph, Canada, for Heat-shrink TD Sleeves on cans of Impériale Choco Noisette stout, which cleverly and cost-effectively delivered a premium, tactile metallic finish without metallic inks.

Announcing the winners during the AWAVirtual conference, Corey Reardon – President and CEO of AWA Alexander Watson Associates – underlined the fact that these annual AWA-sponsored awards, now in their sixth year, continue to deliver ‘exceptional examples of what shrink sleeve technology has achieved today’. www.awa-bv.com.