NEW YORK, March 8, 2004 – Xerox Corporation today announced it is accepting entries for the 2004 Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging Awards, recognizing excellence in digital printing. Building on the success of the program during the past two years, Xerox is expanding the competition beyond the United States and Canada to include Latin America. The Printing Innovation Awards program is designed to honor excellence and innovation in digital printing applications. It also demonstrates new uses of technology and variable information to help graphic arts professionals increase print volume, revenue and communication effectiveness for their customers. Variable information is where content varies from one page to the next, creating personalized documents. Last year’s competition received more than 120 entries. TBC Color Imaging, a commercial digital printer in Teterboro, N.J., received “Best in Show” for its marketing collateral. It featured examples of jobs such as books, catalogs, promotional mailers and signage that were once printed on offset, exhibiting how they could now be digitally printed on a Xerox DocuColor iGen3? Digital Production Press, raising their customers’ confidence in digital printing. “Each year the judges continue to be impressed by the creative applications that the print industry develops using digital technology,” said Valerie Blauvelt, vice president of marketing, Xerox Production Systems Group. “These print pieces often raise the bar to whole new levels of communication effectiveness and, at the same time, are helping generate more profit for our customers.” Entries will be accepted until July 15, and there is no fee for entering or for multiple submissions. Participants can go to www.xerox.com/pixi to register to receive entry materials. Categories for this year’s competition are: - Variable Print/1:1 Marketing Communications – Targeted and data-driven printed materials produced from variable text and graphics, designed and personalized to target specific audiences, such as customized financial statements or direct mail pieces. - Short-Run Digital Color – Materials that have been produced as low-quantity, high-quality color digital printing. This applies to jobs where offset color printing is not as cost-effective as digital, such as point of purchase materials, short-run marketing pieces and brochures. - Digital Books and Manuals – Any multiple-page finished document, black-and-white or color, such as training manuals and product documentation. A panel of industry experts representing key segments of the graphic arts industry and various geographies will judge the entries. Confirmed judges are Ira A. Gold, president, Gold Associates Inc. and contributing editor, Electronic Publishing; Barbara A. Pellow, Gannett Professor for Printing and Publishing, Rochester Institute of Technology; David R. Spencer, president and CEO, Spencer & Associates Publishing Ltd.; and Roy Zucca, owner of ConsultRoy.com and director of business development for Impact Workflow Solutions. All applications must be produced on Xerox digital equipment, and judgment criteria include overall aesthetics, business effectiveness, the use of digital technology, and degree of innovation. Gold, silver and bronze awards will be given for each category, as well as an overall “Best of Show” award. Winners will be announced in October at Graph Expo 2004 in Chicago.