23 October 2004 -- Johannesburg - Today at the 2004 Sappi International Printer of the Year awards gala event in Cape Town, Sappi announced that it would be awarding nine Sappi International Printer of the Year awards at the end of 2005. Nine Sappi Printer of the Year gold award recipients from each of the four regions of North America, Europe, Africa and Trading (including Australasia, Asia and Central and South America) will compete against each other in their respective categories for these prestigious awards. They will be chosen in the categories of annual reports, books, brochures, calendars, catalogues, general print, magazines, packaging and labels and printer's own promotions. "In addition to growing the competition to become the only global one of its kind in the industry, we continually assess the way in which print excellence is appreciated, especially in regards to the expectations of the final end users of our products," says Group Head Corporate Affairs André Oberholzer. "The nine Sappi International Printer of the Year award winners will have proven that they are indeed the world's best in their chosen area of expertise and well able to meet the exacting demands of their customers". The Sappi Printer of the Year awards were started in South Africa in 1979 and today over 6,000 printers from all over the world compete for these prestigious titles each year. The jury is fully independent and impartial and consists of international representatives of print federations. For entry forms and further information visit www.sappi.com/PrinterOfTheYear.