Gilbertsville, PA - Molly Joss, Founder and Principal of the Joss Group and Publisher of the Seybold Report, has announced establishment of the Phoenix Awards for the Advancement and Support of Excellence in the Graphic Arts. The Joss Group has established the Phoenix Awards program to encourage members of the graphic arts community and others to develop positive and effective solutions to issues facing the industry.
 
The worldwide program will spotlight the best and brightest ideas to reinvigorate the graphic arts industry. Entries are welcome from individual inventors and innovators as well as from corporations and educational institutions.
 
"Identifying and guiding innovation and change in the graphic arts industry were principles John Seybold held dear when he started his first graphic arts-related newsletter several decades ago," explains Molly Joss, Principal of the Joss Group. "Given the Seybold Report's rich history of supporting innovation, it is entirely appropriate for us now to seek through the establishment of the Phoenix Awards, to foster and encourage development and introduction of new concepts and products for the betterment of the graphic arts industry. The industry faces an urgent and continuous need to reinvent itself and needs a rallying point for developing solutions to move the industry forward and not allow it to wallow in despair and disillusionment or return repeatedly to processes and practices that no longer serve its best interests."
 
Cash Prizes
 
Modest cash prizes will be awarded to each top winner in each of the three award categories: Innovation, Sustainability, and Automation.
 
Award Categories
 
- Innovation: The Innovation category is for projects or proposed projects that go beyond business as usual and serve as examples of how a publishing or printing company can be transformed by the application of new and unusual ideas and practices while still remaining true to the timeless principles of the art of communication.
 
- Automation: The Automation category is for projects that have demonstrated results in reducing elements of the printing or publishing process, including labor, time, and materials. Top award winners in this category will have outstanding results in more than one area.
 
- Sustainability: The Sustainability category is for projects that have demonstrated results in reducing environmental damage or in reducing materials used for printing and publishing projects and waste products resulting from such projects, including greenhouse gases. Top award winning projects in these categories will have outstanding results in more than one area.
 
Deadline for Entries
 
Entries may be submitted between February 1 and August 1, 2011. The list of finalists will be announced in October 2011. Winners will be announced at an awards dinner in late November 2011. There will be, at most, three top awards in each category, but judges may award honorable mentions in each category.
 
Sponsorship Opportunities
 
Any company, trade association or educational institution interested in becoming a sponsor should contact Kate Kaiser for more information at [email protected] or 888-544-7104, x133.
 
For more information and details on the Phoenix Awards, visit http://www.thephoenixawards.com/ or http://www.seyboldreport.com/.