Printing Industries of America's Premier Print Awards are an international print competition that recognizes exceptional print pieces from around the globe. Companies that enter have the opportunity to submit extraordinary print pieces with the potential to win industry-wide recognition.
The 2018 Best of Category winner for School Yearbooks was Jostens Inc., who submitted the 2018 Yukon High School The Miller Yearbook. Rick Brooks, Creative Design Manager, gives us further insight into his team's success and the importance of details in this competition.
How did your company prepare your entry?
One of my jobs is to coordinate the competition for the company. We use outside consultants that look for the best publications. They seek out original pieces and submit the ones that stand out to them.
How did you decide on what printed piece to submit?
The pieces are submitted to me and then I narrow them down. In total, there are around 150 entries and I choose 20-25 to be submitted. I look at every detail of the pieces, and most often it is the little things that set the entries apart.
What do you believe distinguished your company from others in order to win a Premier Print Award?
I believe our team won because the product deserved it. At this point, it is no longer just a book, but a piece of artwork. The 2018 Yukon High School The Miller Yearbook was an amazing feat that displayed genuine creativity.
How did winning a Benny impact your company's future?
Winning a Benny brings about tons of internal pride for the company, which is the most important aspect to me. The employees worked very hard, and now they have a Benny award to prove it.
How did your company celebrate the win?
Our company sent out a press release following the win to announce our achievement. We presented the plaque to the publishing plants who won the final book submission. To show our appreciation, plaques were given out to all of the employees and customers. We have a series of awards hanging throughout our plants, and Yukon High School has a Benny statue to showcase their accomplishment.
Will you be entering our competition again this year?
Yes! We have already started submitting. The deadline is a week later than last year, so we have an extra week's worth of submissions.
Are there any tips/suggestions you can share based on the knowledge you have gained from last year's submission?
This is not just something I learned from last year, but from every year that I have been doing this. It is all about the details of the piece. It is important to notice the fine detail work that takes things above and beyond to an award-winning level.