Portland, OR. - PPI Association, a visual communications trade organization, hosted its 8^th Annual PrintROCKS! Awards & Party on October 2, 2015 at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington. Print manufacturing companies, agencies, and even students entered the 27 divisions ranging from direct mail to catalogs to posters to packaging. 

Honored first were the 2015 Hickey Picker Award recipients. They will be joining the ranks of over 100 past winners dating back to 1975. The PPI membership nominated the award candidates who they believed represented the region’s “champions of print” – individuals with a keen eye for what it takes to deliver quality and service, while setting a gold standard for leadership. Mark Haworth of Komori America presented the class of 2015 Hickey Pickers. The recipients were: 

Jodi Krohn- Premier Press, Portland, OR
Dick Corder – WCP Solutions, Portland, OR
Matthew Mewhorter – Printco, Auburn, WA
Craig Nebeker – Spicers Paper,Portland, OR
David Archer – Konica Minolta, Portland, OR
Bob Brown – Consolidated Press, Seattle, WA
Rodney Anderson – Capitol City Press, Olympia, WA
Robin Dodd – Wright Business Graphics, Portland, OR 

PPI received 205 PrintROCKS! Awards entries from 26 companies in PPI’s six-state region. This year’s entries raised the bar as new technology and techniques expand traditional capabilities. Excellent examples of web, offset, digital, large format, folds, dies, finishing and special solutions challenged the panel of judges comprised of Daniel Dejan – Sappi Fine Paper, Sandy Hubbard – HelpPrintThrive.com and Abe Hayhurst – FujiFilm Graphic Systems.  Michael Makin, President & CEO of PIA shared the stage with PPI Executive Director Jules Van Sant to honor the top PrintROCKS award winners. The PrintROCKS! Award winners are:

Best of Show: B&B Print Source, Portland, OR
People’s Choice: B&B Print Source, Portland, OR

Best of Division:

100 or more employees: ColorGraphics, Seattle, WA
51-100 employees: B&B Print Source, Portland, OR
21-50 employees: PrintWest, Woodinville, WA
20 or less employees: American Printing & Publishing, Kent, WA
Student: Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School, Honolulu, HI
Mad Props: Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School, B&B Print Source and Premier Press
WTFabulous!: Premier Press, Portland, OR

 ** See all award winners at PrintROCKS.org ** 

Congratulations to all the winners and participants. The PrintROCKS! Awards Party was a celebration of excellence and achievement. The attendees were thrilled with the entire evening event. One attendee recently relocated to the Northwest shared, "Friday evening was absolutely fantastic. Bonnie and I had such a great time and were absolutely amazed how flawless the evening went. Without a doubt, that was the best Printing Association Awards program I have ever attended.” This year’s theme, Release the Kraken, represented the power and growth of multi-media marketing. Party attendees enjoyed Hotel Murano’s fine cuisine, entertainment by a caricature artist, magician, and photo booth fun, plus a guest visit from Captain Jack Sparrow. Following the awards ceremony, guests enjoyed networking and the Pirates’ Casino.