Baltimore, MD - Vertis Communications, a results driven marketing communications company that delivers inventive advertising, direct marketing and interactive solutions to prominent brands across North America, today announced that Steve Smiley, Director of Color Technology, received the prestigious Leonard Holzinger Service Award at the International Digital Enterprise Alliance (IDEAlliance) PRIMEX2011 Leadership Summit in Coral Gables, FL. Smiley was recognized for his exemplary service to the industry through the development of color management innovations that are now standards in the field.

Over a 35 year career in the graphic arts and printing industries, Smiley has become a recognized authority on the use of color management in product branding and marketing. He pioneered an industry approach to establishing consistent brand color treatments that remain true from file to output, regardless of format, size or printing platform. Smiley was instrumental in the development of the International Standards Organization’s proofing standards and the Flexographic Trade Association’s first color management specifications for flexography. He is currently the Chair of the IDEAlliance Print Properties and Colorimetric Working Group, which is responsible for the definition of industry proofing and digital printing certifications. At Vertis, where he has led the Color Engineering Department for more than 20 years, Smiley has engineered color management tools and standards that protect brand integrity including design, color and image quality for leading companies across North America, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Polo Ralph Lauren and Lowe’s.

“Steve’s commitment to advanced color management practices continues to move the industry into the future by consistently raising the bar for quality control procedures across all printing processes,” said Gerald Sokol Jr., Interim President & Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Vertis Communications. “We are honored that one of our own has achieved this prominent award, and are proud to have Steve on our team helping to elevate consumer brands through color consistency and production reliability for our industry leading clients, including Hershey, Meijer and Tyson Foods.”

The Leonard Holzinger Service Award was established in 1986 in recognition of a model member who dedicated both his time and commitment to the development of new programs and services for the IDEAlliance Association. Each year, one individual is recognized with this award at what is now the IDEAlliance PRIMEX Leadership Summit, a conference established this year by combining the Annual IPA Leadership Conference and PRIMEX Print Media Executive Summit. The event serves as a think tank for industry leaders from the creative, premedia, print and digital media communities where they gather to focus on enabling the integration of media across the end-to-end media supply chain.

“At IDEAlliance, our goal is to empower the graphic arts and printing industry with continuously advancing core technology and best practices to enhance efficiency and speed information across the end-to-end digital media supply chain,” said David Steinhard, President and CEO, IDEAlliance + IPA. “Steve Smiley’s contribution to the organization and the industry through his commitment to excellence and belief in the importance of color management practices is enabling leading companies across the globe to enhance their brands through the production of best-in-class designs across any printing process, application or substrate.”