FTA Honors & Awards - Flexographic Technical Association

FTA honors and awards are among the most sought after in the flexographic industry. Each winning individual, company, product or print is chosen by a group of industry members—nobody is better qualified to evaluate and weigh in on their value and importance. Each of FTA’s awards is announced at Forum & INFOFLEX; there, before a packed room of fellow flexographers, those honorees are brought to the stage and rightly recognized for their achievements and contributions to the industry.

Excellence in Flexography Awards

The Excellence in Flexography Awards recognize exemplary package printing. Awards are judged over a three-day period by a group of flexographic industry experts. Categories in the Excellence in Flexography Awards include wide web, mid web, narrow web, combined corrugated, preprinted linerboard, envelope, self-promotion and non-traditional flexography, college student and high school student. The 2017 Excellence in Flexography Awards honored 121 as being noteworthy flexographically printed pieces.

Technical Innovation Award

Everything you need to know about the Technical Innovation Award is in its name: Technology and innovation. The Technical Innovation Award calls attention to the marrying of these two ideas in products which solve real problems facing flexographic printers. Past winners have run the gamut, from entire presses to plates to software. There were three recipients of the 2017 Technical Innovation Award: Esko, for its XPS Crystal 5080; Flint Group, for its EkoCure ANCORA ink; and Mark Andy, for its Digital Series Hybrid Press.

Sustainability Excellence Award

Flexography is not known for being environmentally friendly, but that has not stopped the quest to mitigate its impact. The Sustainability Excellence Award recognizes printers who endure the added cost, additional constraints and first-adopter pitfalls to lessen their printing’s affect on the environment. The 2017 Sustainability Excellence Award was given to Artcraft Label, for its ProPETE; and Polymount International, for its Polymount Film Cleaner. An honorable mention was given to Heritage Envelopes, for its PackMail solution.

FTA Hall of Fame

FTA honors and awards 2017 Hall of Fame Steve Smiley For an individual to be inducted into any hall of fame requires a dedication spanning a lifetime. Members of the FTA Hall of Fame have selflessly volunteered their free time to aid the Association in its mission, while also having a dramatic impact on the flexographic industry. When the newest member of the FTA Hall of Fame is announced at Forum’s Annual Banquet & Awards Program, it is only he or she who is truly surprised; inductees are fixtures of the industry, staples at FTA events, regular contributors to FLEXO Magazine, constantly serving on or heading committees.

Read About the 2017 Winners
FLEXO Magazine’s May issue and June issue feature extensive awards coverage

President’s Award

FTA’s president bestows his namesake award—the FTA President’s Award—on individuals who demonstrate remarkable dedication and extraordinary service to the Association, whether it be through steadfast work on a committee, as a delegate of FTA in countries where flexography and package printing are gaining even more steam, or some other notable body of work.

Scholarships

FTA honors and awards 2017 Rossini Research Scholarship
FTA Scholarships shine a much-needed spotlight on the future of the flexographic industry. The Association has offered scholarships to students for more than three decades.