Xerox Corp. announced that is looking for the printing industry's most creative books, manuals, direct marketing and brochures in its sixth annual Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging (PIXI) Awards. The multinational competition was created to recognize the most innovative and effective revenue-generating work customers are printing with Xerox digital presses.
For the first time, Xerox will hold one worldwide contest rather than a separate European program and a North and South American program, allowing entrants from around the world to compete for a global title. Xerox will begin accepting entries on April 23, following AIIM/On Demand, a major conference and exhibition for the document imaging industry.
"For the last five years, the PIXI Awards have showcased how Xerox customers are stretching the boundaries of digital printing," said Valerie Blauvelt, vice president of marketing, Xerox Production Systems Group. "When inspiration is combined with the right technology and workflow, it equals success for our customers and their clients. Entries in past years have included photo memory books, customized direct-marketing campaigns, greeting cards and personalized calendars."
Judged by experts representing key segments of the international graphic communications industry, the entries will be evaluated on overall aesthetics, business effectiveness, use of Xerox digital technology and degree of innovation. The contest will also recognize the team of creative professionals, commercial printers and their clients that work together to bring these digitally printed jobs to the marketplace.
This year's competition will have four categories:
- Collateral: Essential for brand management and consistent messaging, this category encompasses digitally printed materials designed for the promotion of a product or service. Using a variety of finishing techniques, entries can be in the form of brochures, calendars, postcards, sell sheets, posters, signage, business cards and catalogs and may include personalization, versioning or customization.
- Digital Books and Manuals: This category includes all books and related products. Examples include short-run titles, customized education and training materials, product manuals, booklets, wire-bound presentations and annual reports in black-and-white, color or a combination of both.
- Direct Mail: Direct-marketing pieces designed and personalized to target specific audiences and individuals fall into this category. Possible entries include postcards, self-mailers, multi-piece flat mailing packages, dimensional mailing packages, envelopes and labels, cross-media programs as well as personalized or print-on-demand fulfillment materials.
- Promotional/Transactional: All types of transactional customer communications, particularly those that leverage customer information to enhance relationships, fit into this category. Examples include credit card statements with personalized product offers, bank statements that cross-sell additional financial services, mutual fund statements that graphically depict investment mix and rate of return, and utility statements that include retention-building information.
"Xerox's PIXI Awards are more than a competition to find this year's most innovative uses of digital technology," said Marshall Perkins, president, The Print Network, a previous award winner. "The program offers an opportunity to see what market leaders are creating for their clients and provides a platform for Xerox customers to share best practices with an international audience."
Entries will be accepted until midnight on June 22, 2007, and must be produced using Xerox digital printing presses. Submission to the PIXI Awards is free, and entries are accepted from more than 50 countries. The submission Web site will be available in six languages. Winners will be announced during Graph Expo, a major commercial printing trade show, held Sept. 9-12, 2007, in Chicago.
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