Portland, OR. - PPI Association, a visual communications trade organization, announced the 8^th Annual PrintROCKS! Awards Party to be held on October 2, 2015 at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington. The annual PrintROCKS! Awards Party is the most notable celebration of print excellence in the Pacific northwest region. Print manufacturing companies, agencies, and even students enter PrintROCKS! in hope of their work being recognized and awarded the distinction of Best in Division, Best in a category, or recipient of the People’s Choice Award. There are 27 divisions ranging from direct mail to catalogs to posters to packaging. There are even categories for “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done,” “Environmentally Sound Materials” and “Special Innovation Awards.” Entries are closed and judging will take place at the end of August. Winners are announced at the Awards dinner.

“Each year we are very excited to host the PrintROCKS! Party, but this year stands apart. We are honoring all the past “Hickey Picker Award” recipients – over 100 of them! They are the backbone of the print industry and leaders in visual communications. They set the standard for quality, service, leadership, and commitment to improving the business of print,” shared Jules VanSant, PPI Executive Director. The 2015 Hickey Picker nominees will be submitted by past award winners and the PPI membership; the PPI Board makes the final selection. The 2014 Hickey Picker Awards went to: Holly Derderian – Spicers Paper, David Dull – Xerox, Joanne Bechtold – Graphic Arts Center, Jon Thompson – WCP Solutions, Ed Allen – WCP Solutions, Dianne Bullas – Journal Graphics, Steve Cole – WCP Solutions, and Scott Gorman – Premier Press. 

The PrintROCKS! Party is at the beautiful Hotel Murano. The evening festivities will include Constructive Cocktails, dinner, Undersea Casino, a raffle benefitting the Pacific Printing Industry Educational Trust Fund programs, awards, and more. Attendees visiting for the weekend can enjoy the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum, Museum of Glass, America’s Car Museum, the Point Defiance Park/Zoo/Aquarium, and many other points of interest. 

Information and tickets are available at printrocks.org