CHICAGO, June 3, 2003 – For the second consecutive year, Robert Romero, operations manager for Paragon Printing & Mailing, Austin, Texas, was the winner of the SHOTS “I Am the Greatest” Press Skills Contest, held during the GATF/PIA • NAPL Sheetfed Pressroom Conference, June 1-3, 2003, in Chicago. Romero bested 15 other contestants in a battle of problem-solving and sheetfed press operating skill. Runners-up were Larry Johnston, plant manager, and Doug Evans, press operator, for Tru Art, Iowa City, Iowa. (Participants can sign up individually or in teams of two.) Sponsored by MAN Roland, the contest uses the Sheetfed Offset Training Simulator (SHOTS) to test the problem-solving acumen of the competitors. SHOTS is a virtual press able to reproduce a wide variety of printing conditions and problems for the purpose of training and skills assessment. In this year’s exercise, the 16 individuals participating in the preliminary round of competition were required to troubleshoot a number of press problems to achieve a makeready OK. Johnston/Evans and Romero turned in the lowest productions costs and advanced to the finals, where they simultaneously grappled with an exercise consisting of registration, ink/water balance, moiré, humidity, and blanket packing problems. Romero finished first by completing the exercise in 11½ minutes and $1,331. During the finals, Conference attendees were able to participate in the excitement by observing the contestants’ actions on two large screens. For claiming the top prize, Romero won a case of fine wine, a commemorative plaque, a watch donated by MAN Roland, and a $200 gift certificate, redeemable for publications from GATF/PIA and the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL). Previous winners of the contest include Fran Yeager of Great Plains Packaging (2000) and John Johnson and Anthony Bonds of the Smyth Companies and Mark Lockary and Nader Mehdizadeh of California Lithographers (co-winners in 2001). SHOTS was developed by Sinapse Graphic International and is distributed in North America by GATF. Sponsored jointly by the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF) / Printing Industries of America (PIA) and the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), the GATF/PIA • NAPL Sheetfed Pressroom Conference is known for providing in-depth information on the fundamentals of running a sheetfed pressroom and for putting those basics in a strategic context to help printers grow their businesses. Next year’s Conference will return to Chicago in June of 2004.