WESTERVILLE, Ohio --March 25, 2003-- The Printing Industries Association, Inc. serving Northern Kentucky and Ohio (PIANKO) will not only be celebrating the 200th birthday of Ohio on March 28, but also the finest printing in the state from 2002. The Best of Category awards will be presented to more than 20 companies at PIANKO’s Grand Ceremony, sponsored by Heidelberg, at the United States Air Force Museum Friday, March 28, 2003. PIANKO’s Print Excellence Awards were designed to recognize superior print production and quality craftsmanship and member companies continue to use the venue as a showcase of their abilities and quality work. “The 21 companies who won Best of Category awards in our 35 categories represent the finest printing in the state of Ohio and northern Kentucky,” said PIANKO President Anita Herington. “We’ll be celebrating the work of these fine printers as well as reflecting on Ohio’s history and the birthplace of flight - Ohio. Few people know the Wright brothers had another profession… printing.” Three experts were chosen to serve as judges for this year’s contest based on their printing qualifications. The judges were: Darren Gapen, lead press instructor with Heidelberg, Bob Kenley of Fuji Photo Film and Charlie Molicki with Flint Ink. Gold, silver and bronze awards were selected for the northern, central and southern regions of PIANKO out of the 629 entries submitted statewide in 35 different categories. “These pieces are some of the finest I’ve seen,” said Gapen, who has judged contests nationally. “Ohio’s turning out some real quality work.” Michael Makin, chief operating officer of Printing Industries of America and the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) will be on hand at the ceremony to help hand out the awards. The regional gold winners were then judged in a Best of Category and Best of Show competition. The Best of Show winner will be revealed at the celebration, March 28. Best of Category award winners are listed by category and sub-category at the end of this release. Sponsors for this year’s Print Excellence Awards include: Braden Sutphin Ink Co., CareWorks, Corporate Plans, Inc., Kodak Polychrome, Ohio Envelope Manufacturing Co., Sterling Paper, xpedx, Compensation Consultants, Inc., Graphco, Kohl & Madden Printing Ink Co., Meredith & Associates/United Insurance Co., Utica National Insurance, Employee Benefit Management Corp., Hirth, Norris & Garrison, The Murphy Company, Roosevelt Paper Co. and Superior Printing Ink Co. Printing Industries Association, Inc. serving northern Kentucky and Ohio (PIANKO) serves more than 500 commercial printing companies and suppliers to the industry in its service area. With headquarters in Westerville, Ohio, the association also operates offices in Broadview Heights and Cincinnati. PIANKO is an affiliate of the national Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, the largest graphic arts association in the world. To learn more about PIANKO, visit www.pianko.org. Best of Category Winners Alternative Printing Methods – Stochastic Printing -Hennegan Company – Florence, KY Announcements & Invitations–Four or More Colors -Custom Graphics – Solon Annual Reports Any Report Produced by Web Offset -Hennegan Company – Florence, KY Booklets 6”x9” or Smaller Five or More Colors -St Ives – Cuyahoga Heights Booklets Larger than 6”x9” Five or More Colors -Custom Graphics – Solon Booklets Any Size Produced by Web Offset Four or More Colors -St Ives – Cuyahoga Heights Books – Hardbound -Superior Printing – Warren Books Other than Hardbound 6”x9” or Smaller Five or More Colors -Alliance Packaging & Printing Services, Inc. – Cincinnati Books Other than Hardbound Larger than 6”x9” Perfect Bound, Any Size or Number of Colors -Multi-Craft Litho – Newport, KY Brochures and Catalogs - Institutional -Watt Printers – Cleveland Calendars – Multiple Pages – Four or More Colors -Berman Printing Co. – Cincinnati Campaigns -Great Lakes Companies – Cleveland Catalogs Informational – Four or More Colors -Custom Graphics, Inc. – Solon Catalogs Product Four Colors plus Specialty Finishing -Hennegan Company – Florence, KY Corporate Communications – Four Colors -FineLine Graphics – Columbus Digital Printing – Direct Offset Printing – On Demand -Watt Printers – Cleveland Envelopes – Printed and Converted - Flexography -American Print Works – Columbus Envelope Stuffers – Four or More Colors -Superior Printing Co. – Warren Folders – Four Colors -The Old Trail Printing Co. – Columbus Magazines and Publications – Periodic Issues -FineLine Graphics – Columbus Menus -Optimum Print Solutions – Columbus Newsletters and House Organs Three Colors or More -Watt Printers – Cleveland Pocket Folders – Five or More Colors -Modern International Graphics – Eastlake Point-of-Purchase – 3D Point-of-Purchase Displays -Milbourn Pressworks Co. – Eastlake Posters – Large - Over 28”x42” -Hennegan Co. – Florence, Ky. Printers’ Self-Advertising - Other -Joseph Berning Printing Co. – Cincinnati Programs – Four or More Colors -Patented Printing – Dayton Publication Inserts Four or More Colors - Newspaper -St Ives Inc. – Cuyahoga Heights Self-Mailers – Five or More Colors -Oliver Printing Co. – Twinsburg Specialties – Printing on Fabric or Plastic -Hennegan Co. – Newport, KY Specialty Finishing - Combination -George W. Steffen Bookbinders – Macdonia Stationery – Letterhead and Envelope Sets Three or More Colors -Oliver Printing Co. – Twinsburg Tags, Labels, Box Wraps and Decals Specialty Packaging -Precision Printing – Westerville A major initiative of PIANKO is Print: The Original Information Technology (or Print IT) which illustrates the importance of print as a communication medium. In the face of technology, print is still the primary source of communication for most of the world.