Winners of 2023 Printing United Alliance Pinnacle Awards

Recognizes industry technology and solutions

By
IPP Desk
-
56
Printing United
EasyColor DTV from Sister North America is among the winners. Photo Printing United Alliance

Printing United Alliance, a member-based printing and graphic arts association in North America, has announced the 2023 winners of its Pinnacle Awards program. 

The Pinnacle Awards are open exclusively to Alliance supplier members and, this year, judges selected 14 Pinnacle Technology Award recipients and 58 Pinnacle Product Award recipients from an array of product submissions. The Printing United Alliance Pinnacle Awards Program recognizes best-in-class products created for, and by, the printing industry.

Winners’ Showcase

Pinnacle Technology Awards

The Pinnacle Technology Awards recognize innovative solutions that are pinpointed as having a significant impact on printing and graphics companies. The 2023 Pinnacle Technology Award winners are –

  • Canon USA, Canon UVgel White Ink
  • ColorBase, ColorBase Profile Search
  • DirectMail2.0, TargetMatch
  • Durst Image Technology US LLC (Durst North America), P5 Robotics
  • Enfocus, PitStop Library Container
  • Fujifilm Graphic Communication Division, J Press FP790: Digital Inkjet Press for Flexible Packaging
  • Global Graphics Software, SmartDFE
  • Heidelberg USA, Plate to Unit
  • HP Inc., HP PageWide Advantage 2200
  • Inkcups, The XJET Switch decorating Reusable Bags
  • Kornit Digital, Kornit Atlas MAX POLY
  • PlanProphet Inc., PlanProphet
  • Prism Inks, Inc., Sublimation to Film – STF
  • Racami, Alchem-e

Pinnacle Product Awards

The Pinnacle Product Award competition is focused on manufacturer products in both output and non-output categories. These two main categories are then divided into sub-categories to ensure similar products are judged accordingly with similar feature set.

Companies receiving a Pinnacle Product Award this year in the non-output category include (many companies received multiple awards) are: Agfa; Bodaq Interior Finishes; ColorLogic GmbH; Cutworx USA; Drytac; Durst Image Technology US LLC (Durst North America); Fiery, LLC; Fisher Textiles; Imaging Solutions AG; KIWO Inc/ULANO Corp.; Kommerling USA Inc.; Lawson Screen & Digital Products; M&R Printing Equipment Inc.; Marabu North America LP; Media One Digital Imaging Solutions; Ricoh USA; Siser North America; and TVF. 

Those companies winning one or more Pinnacle Awards in the output category in 2023 are: Agfa; Canon USA; Durst Image Technology US LLC (Durst North America); Epson America, Inc.; Fujifilm Graphic Communication Division; HP Inc.; M&R Printing Equipment Inc.; Mutoh America Inc.; Roland DGA Corporation; and Vanguard Digital Printing Systems. 

A celebration of innovation

“Each year, Alliance Supplier members eagerly await the window to open to submit their innovative technology for the famed Pinnacle Awards program,” said Dawn Nye, program manager, PRINTING United Alliance. “Awards programs such as these help companies elevate awareness and third party validation of their solutions in the marketplace as they work to create technology that further advances our industry.

“It’s a tough task to choose those that rise to the occasion as the official ‘winners’, as each submission truly is an impressive feat to all who have the privilege of examining the technology. All who enter should be proud of their cutting-edge products that work to benefit industry customers as a whole.”

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

Subscribe Now

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here