Rochester, N.Y. - Seven Kodak customers received honors in the Gold Ink awards, which are sponsored by Printing Impressions magazine.  Overall, 24 prize-winning entries relied on the excellence of KODAK Solutions in their creations-more than any other digital press manufacturer.

In its 23rd year, the Gold Ink awards competition is open to all creators and producers of printed materials. With nearly 50 categories, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Pewter awards are given based on criteria such as job difficulty, color, effects, registration pattern, substrate choice, uniqueness of binding and finishing techniques, production execution, inclusion of specialized printing, and overall favorability in terms of appearance, quality and aesthetic impact.

The seven Kodak customers that earned recognition include:
- Collotype Labels-10 awards (1 Silver; 1 Bronze; 8 Pewter)
- Copresco-1 award (1 Pewter)
- Craftsman Printers, Inc. -1 award (1 Bronze)
- FormStore-2 awards (2 Pewter)
- RR Donnelley-1 award (1 Pewter)
- Times Printing Co. Inc-3 awards (1 Silver; 2 Pewter)
- QuadGraphics-2 awards (2 Pewter)

Paul Edwards, President of FormStore Incorporated, discusses the benefits that KODAK Solutions brought to the award-winning, spiral-bound book created by Toucan Design and printed by FormStore for Engraphix, an architectural signage company.

"Engraphix is in an industry where design is key, so we knew it was important to print their promotional book on a digital press that would yield top-of-the-line results in terms of quality-and the KODAK NEXPRESS Press was our answer," said Edwards. "Also, the NEXPRESS Press's ability to print on a variety of substrates was an added bonus-the award-winning book contains a variety of substrates types, allowing it to stand apart from your average book with its interesting textures."

FormStore Incorporated also printed the Dimensional Digital self promo over-cover for Print Solutions magazine with a KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Press and created texture through the Fifth Imaging Unit Solution using the KODAK NEXPRESS Intelligent Dimensional Coating Solution. KODAK Dimensional Clear Dry Ink creates a clear "raised" layer on top of a page element and can be used to enhance graphics, text, or a full-color image. "This technology takes printing to new heights," says Paul Edwards, President of FormStore.

The magazine cover, a photo of colorful hot air balloons, was printed in a series of three with differing textures and incorporated smooth raised dimensional print. Magazine readers could easily touch and feel the unique texture for an enhanced experience. 

FormStore has two KODAK NEXPRESS 2500 Digital Production Color Presses, two KODAK NEXPRESS Glossing Units, and a KODAK DIGIMASTER E125 Digital Production System.

Kodak also submitted its own entries and earned four awards (1 Silver; 3 Pewter), including one for the production of its Jane Eyre book cover, the Silver winner, which was created on the KODAK NEXPRESS SE3000 Digital Production Color Press using the KODAK Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions' KODAK Dimensional Clear Dry Ink feature.

A panel of distinguished graphic arts professionals judge entries during a four-day period. Also, winning pieces are featured in Publishing Executive, Book Business (book categories) and Printing Impressions magazines. Top award winning companies and their entries are also featured during a multimedia presentation at the Gold Ink & Hall of Fame banquet held during GRAPH EXPO in Chicago, IL. The banquet will be held from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 4 at the Hyatt Regency at McCormick Place. For details on companies and its winning submissions visit the Gold Ink Awards website.

"We're happy to be able to provide unique solutions to our customers that earn them the award-winning recognition they deserve for their work," said Chris Payne, Director and Vice President, Business to Business Marketing, Kodak. "Receiving these prestigious awards will help increase the profile of our customers on a national level, helping them to stand out from the competition as excellent partners for their clients."