Rickard Bindery, an industry-leading binding and finishing company with more than a century of experience, proudly announces it has received six 2012 Graphics Excellence Awards (GEA). This year’s GEA winners were recognized at a recent awards celebration hosted by the Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA), which holds the annual competition.

Rickard’s most notable award in this year’s competition: Best of Category in “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done.” The winning entry, a folded brochure, involved several unusual design specifications, including a single cut made down the sheet’s center, and two panels folded in opposite directions. The company also received an Award of Excellence in “Other Special Finishing Techniques,” and four Certificates of Merit for different entries in “Diecuts, Pop-ups, Unique Folds, and Involvement Devices.”

More than 1,000 entries were submitted for this year’s competition. A panel of judges with extensive experience in graphic arts production evaluated each piece on several criteria, including neatness, paper/ink selection, and overall visual impact.

“At Rickard Bindery, the phrase ‘it can’t be done’ is music to our ears,” said Kevin Rickard, Vice President. “We’re honored to receive these awards from the GLGA because they recognize our willingness and ability to meet the extraordinary and unusual postpress challenges of printers across the country.”

The Great Lakes Graphics Association is a trade association representing the graphic communications industry in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The GLGA is an affiliate of Printing Industries of America, the world’s largest graphic arts trade association. The Graphics Excellence Awards competition, owned and managed by the GLGA, is an annual event that recognizes and rewards printing and finishing companies that combine fine craftsmanship with technology in order to produce outstanding finished products.