Niles, IL December 16, 2008: The Garvey Group, one of the largest independent printers in the Midwest, was recognized with its second Benny Award in the Product Service Catalog Printing category for the 2008 Premier Print Awards–the graphic arts industry's largest and most prestigious worldwide printing competition–hosted by the Printing Industries of America. The award was presented to Ed Garvey, president and owner of The Garvey Group, at a dinner reception and gala during Graph Expo 2008 in October. The Garvey Group won the coveted Benny Award, the highest honor in the 2008 Premier Print Awards, for the company's Courvoisier Welcome Kit, which was printed on Garvey's KBA Rapida 105 41-inch six-color plus coater sheetfed press with UV capabilities. In addition, the firm garnered four Certificates of Merit in the Large Format printing category.
 
"This is the second year in a row that we've received the coveted Benny Award," says Ed Garvey, president of the firm. "We are so gratified to be selected by a panel of distinguished judges for this great honor. Our employees work very hard to give each project the same high attention and care."
 
The Courvoisier Welcome Kit was a promotional campaign to introduce clients to the firm's award-winning line of cognac, the history of cognac and offer them the opportunity to monitor a grape vineyard and see the progress of the growth of the grapes that will make this year's cognac. Two Garvey locations took part in completing the multi-faceted Courvoisier project: the Milwaukee, Wisconsin facility printed the seven piece project while the Oak Creek, Wisconsin facility prepared the personalization and mailing.
 
The Welcome Kit was mailed to any connoisseur of cognac who signed up to receive it on the Courvoisier web site. The kit contained a welcome letter, brochure, membership card, certificate, and business cards all tucked into a folder and envelope. The brochure was printed in four-color process with a spot dull varnish plus overall gloss UV coat. The welcome letter, certificate, and membership card all contained personalized information that was printed on an Indigo press. In addition, the certificate was printed in four-color process plus a spot gloss varnish and the blue certificate backer was die-cut. The folder was printed in one-color black and then was die cut, foil stamped, blind embossed, folded and glued. The initial print run for the project called for 4,000 in November 2007 but the kit turned out to be so popular that the firm asked for a reprint of 16,000 in January 2008.
 
"The nature of high-end collateral printing for Courvoisier's design firm of this stature means that everything must be just so," says Charlene Pajewski, Garvey's print production manager. "It requires precise planning skills that only the best firms possess. After being awarded the project, representatives from both of our divisions met with the client at their offices to put together a plan. As we worked with the client and learned of their ultimate wishes, we actually enhanced the end pieces by making recommendations that would give their project the highest visual effect. In the end, we used advanced UV printing techniques on the full color brochure to give it its great visual impact. The coordination of the project was very complex but was handled seamlessly between our two Garvey Group divisions."
 
Once the different pieces were printed, they were sent to the Oak Creek division for personalization and mailing. One of the most challenging aspects to this particular job was keeping the multiple personalized items together. Total production time for the entire project including mailing took about three weeks.
 
Michael Makin, President and CEO of Printing Industries of America, says: "Each year, the field of entries attracts impressive work from some of the best printers in the world. Less than 5% received an Award of Recognition in 2008. The Garvey Group should be proud of its achievement."
 
In addition, The Garvey Group was recognized with four Certificates of Merit for its Large Format Printing. A Certificate of Merit is bestowed by the judges to honor those who have achieved an extremely high level of quality in printing and design. The certificates recognized two projects for the 2008 Sears Craftsmen Personalization End Cap Display; The Other Boleyn Girl movie poster; and the Don Julio Tequila display.
 
Promoting print excellence, the Premier Print Awards, organized by the Printing Industries of America, recognizes those responsible for the creation and production of print communications and individuals who produce the best in print media. Now in its 59th year, the Premier Print Awards are the printing industry's oldest and largest worldwide graphic arts competition. The "Benny" award is the highest ranked honor in the program and is judged annually by a team of distinguished professionals from the graphic arts community. The annual international contest attracted more than 4,200 entries for 2008.
 
Throughout the evaluation process, judges look at a number of printing qualities including technical superiority, application of color, degree of difficulty and the overall appearance and design that make an effective and graphically appealing printed piece. Commenting on the Garvey Group project, judges said, "Printing a sheetfed cover and combining it with web text is a very ambitious challenge. This type of crossover is difficult to maintain, but they did it. The marriage worked."
 
Headquartered in Sewickley, PA, Printing Industries of America is the world's largest graphic arts trade association representing an industry with more than 1.2 million employees. It serves the interests of more than 12,000 member companies. Printing Industries of America, along with its affiliates, delivers products and services that enhance the growth, efficiency and profitability of its members and the industry through advocacy, education, research and technical information.
 
The Garvey Group is a network of advertising, marketing, print production, support, and fulfillment divisions located in the Midwest and dedicated to the design, production, and distribution of graphic and electronic communication materials. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Niles, Illinois, The Garvey Group has additional facilities in the Wisconsin cities of Sturtevant, Oak Creek, Racine, and Milwaukee. The Garvey Group's growth has been driven by consistent ownership-three generations of Garveys-along with dedication to professionalism; utilization of the latest technologies; personal service; an eye for detail; and the quality, security, and accuracy of its work. To learn more about The Garvey Group, visit www.thegarveygroup.com.