Excellence in Flexography Awards

Great printers don’t just get the job done, they focus on building a reputation in the industry based on print quality and color consistency. That’s why they have been trusting in FTA’s Excellence in Flexography Awards—the industry’s longest running and most prestigious annual print competition—to assist in gaining the accolades and recognition they deserve.

Competitors from around the world handpick and submit their finest work to be evaluated by a panel of judges, comprised of industry members who have exacting standards and an eye for detail. Of the hundreds of entries submitted, a small subset are deemed worthy of an award—either bronze, silver or gold, and from those awarded gold, a handful are named best of show.

All award-winning prints gain global recognition and exposure through a number of avenues:

• Honored at the Awards Banquet during Forum
• A feature in FLEXO Magazine
• Displayed in the Awards Gallery during INFOFLEX
• Highlighted through FTA’s website, social media channels (including Twitter and Instagram) and press releases

 

The 2018 Excellence in Flexography Awards

The 2018 Excellence in Flexography Awards break a streak that extended back to 2014 (and further for some specific categories) where, year after year, printers exceeded judges’ expectations, and judges gave out more and more awards. This year, something changed. No longer were tight registrations adequate; they had to be tighter. An image couldn’t just be sharp; it had to be sharper than a well-seated doctor blade. Prints which weren’t consistent from repeat to repeat were consistently passed over. Ink coverage that wasn’t complete and even? Judges can’t even.

For more than 500 entries, those judges evaluated each print’s degree of difficulty and level of execution. They quarreled over attributes like consistency, image sharpness, defect detectability and ink coverage. They debated fiercely—huddled around and crouched over a narrow web entry, standing single file and eye level with a combined corrugated print—which deserved a gold, silver or bronze award. In selecting a Best of Show from a category’s gold-award winners, they went for the proverbial jugular, calling attention to the slightest fault in pursuit of establishing a shining example of what flexography is capable of producing. In the end, a total of 114 prints received an award.

“Growth—technical and practical—cannot happen unless we are all pushed, shoved, prodded into action,” said M.M. Lomont of The Quaker Oats Co, on stage 35 years ago at Forum 1983. “And we are quite good at this sport. We know how to push and we won’t quit.”

Read a full recap of the 2018 Excellence in Flexography Awards

 

See All the Winners in the 2018 Excellence in Flexography Awards

 
 
 

The 2017 Excellence in Flexography Awards

“If anything, the 2017 Excellence in Flexography Awards showed that converters are on the ball. The levels of quality and embellishments were at an all time high,” said Forum 2017 Chair Paul Teachout, from Nilpeter. “Converters have taken every opportunity to utilize existing and trending technologies to improve their print performance and bring another level of ‘bling’ to their processes. The level of execution and difficulty was clear; the winning samples have set a new bar!”

Read a full recap of the 2017 Excellence in Flexography Awards and see all the winners