LFP - Large-Format-Printing
Czech Printer Wins Platinum Award In FESPA Digital Print Awards
Friday 25. April 2008 - Printers from Central and Eastern Europe strongly represented among winners and commendations
Czech digital print service provider Atelier Spektrum (www.atelier-spektrum.cz), scooped the coveted Platinum Award in the FESPA Digital Print Awards 2008, supported by HP, in addition to winning the Exterior category, and receiving a commendation for a further project in the same category.
Marketing Manager Michael Dobias represented the company at the exclusive Awards Dinner in Geneva on 31st March 2008, collecting the Exterior Category award from HPs Large Format Printing Sales and Marketing Manager for Central & Eastern Europe, Daniel Princ.
The Prague-based large format specialist scooped the Exterior category prize for its entry entitled Creative Outdoor. The project, for outdoor media company, Bigmedia, was a self-promotional campaign to display the creative effects achievable with outdoor advertising. With this in mind, Atelier Spektrum produced a number of executions, using both Nur Fresco II and HP SCITEX XL 1500 large format printers, on various substrates including paper, self-adhesive foil and backlit banner material to showcase the possibilities of the medium.
Dobias says: “In this highly competitive market, innovation and creativity are key assets and enable us to work on interesting and diverse projects for clients that include Nike, Telefonica O2, Nespresso, Skoda Auto and C&A.”
Commenting on his involvement in the Awards, he adds: “We see huge benefit in participating in the FESPA Digital Awards. In 2007, we won awards in two categories and the recognition our work received on an international level helped us to build and strengthen our position as the leading provider in the Czech market.”
To win the overall Platinum Award, Atelier Spektrums work was singled out from among the eight category winners for its creativity, quality and tactical innovation, and for its unique contribution to the development of the market for wide format digital print in the Czech Republic. The Platinum Winners trophy was presented to Michael Dobias by HPs Graphic Arts Marketing Manager, François Martin.
In the Décor Category, Austrian wide-format printing company Typico Megaprints (www.typico.com) was crowned as the winner. Typico were presented with the challenge of reproducing images from the acclaimed painter and installation artist Michael Craig-Martins collection Signs of Life at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. They rose to the occasion, printing the artwork onto textile, which was used to completely shape the wall to which it was applied. Since the success of this assignment, a number of similar projects were undertaken for Craig-Martin in art galleries around the world.
“The success and exposure from working with such an acclaimed artist has increased the art reproduction aspect of our business, as well as highlighting our expertise in other sectors”, says Thomas Koenig, joint managing director of Typico. Koenig received the Category Winners certificate from HPs signage market manager for EMEAR, Luis Christophe.
Other printers in Central and Eastern Europe whose work was singled out from over 300 entries for commendation by the jury were:
Ex Projekts (Latvia) for their summer sky and chestnut trees ceiling design.
Aztec Inflatables (Romania), for their Apples installation, and for their Earth on Textiles project, printing the globe on the internal and external textile of an inflatable dome
Printmax (Poland) for their Scenery for XIII Cabaret Festival, where they created three-dimensional houses in which the artists could move around.
Digital Printing Centre (Serbia) for their entry Total Wrap, the biggest mesh building wrap they have ever printed at 7537.67 m².
Klimafa Ltd (Hungary) for their fine art project projecting the problems of global ecosystems, Before Rebirth II C-print.
Commenting on the success of Central and Eastern European print service providers in the competition, which invites entries from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Gyorgy Kovacs, FESPA Vice-President, said:
“I am delighted and extremely proud that a printer from Eastern Europe has been awarded this years coveted Platinum Award. With over 300 entries, there was strong representation from Central and Eastern Europe, with a number of the regions companies also singled out for commendations by the jury. I hope that the success of these businesses in this years competition will inspire other print service providers here to produce innovative and creative work, which I hope to see entered in next years FESPA Digital Print Awards.”