The Moonah-based division of GEON proved itself a force to be reckoned with, taking out eight golds at last week’s awards in Hobart. Gary Nilsson, general manager of GEON Tasmania told Print21 that all 65 of the employees were thrilled by the result.

“We take great pride in the work that we do,” he said. “We don’t print to win the jobs but it’s great to win across a wide range of products.”

The awards also proved that there is plenty of room for the smaller players to triumph, too. Flying Colours won six golds, while Focal Printing, which has a team of only six staff, scored four golds plus the prestigious Heidelberg Platinum PICA for outstanding overall entry in print for its catalogue, Time Machines.

Owner, Geoff White, learnt of the victory via an SMS from his son. While he missed the chance to take centre stage, he was still excited at the news. “We were all thrilled,” he said.

According to White, the Time Machines catalogue was “one of those jobs that had been designed by a designer to test the capabilities of a printer.”

“It was a challenging job; on a scale of 1 to 10 this one was on the top end,” White said. “The degree of difficulty in this job was very high, we fortunately executed the it in a very god manner and achieved what the designer [Lynda Warner] was after.”

Tasmanian PICA president, Danny Roach, believes that Australia’s smallest state is still continuing to hold its own. “The quality of printing in Tasmania is improving all the time,” he said. “Even in the National Print Awards our state ended up with a gold.”

Tasmania's top printers and designers for 2010 are all here. Are you one of them? See the full results below.

MAJOR AWARDS
Heidelberg Platinum PICA for outstanding overall entry in print
Winner: Focal Printing
PaperlinX Paper Platinum PICA for outstanding overall entry in design
Winner: Walker Design
Currie Platinum PICA for most innovative use of imaging in print
Winner: Clemenger

Category: One, Two & three colour printing - any format
Winner: Flying Colours
Category: Posters / Art Production
Winner: The Mercury Newspaper
Category: Commercial posters, showcards, card constructions and mobiles (four or more colours)
No winner
Category: Complex constructions to be assembled by the entrant on judging day
No winner
Category: Calendars - any format
Winner: Print Applied
Category: Brochures & Leaflets (up to three colours)
No winner
Category: Brochures & leaflets (four or more colours)
Winner: Geon
Category: Business Cards
Winner: Monotone
Category: Letterheads
Winner: Flying Colours
Category: With Compliments Slips
Winner: Harris Print
Category: Envelopes
Winner: GEON
Category: Stationery Sets - minimum two items
Winner: Harris Print
Category: Certificates/Invitations
Winner: Flying Colours

Category: Direct Mail Pieces
No winner
Category: Postcards and greeting cards
Winner: Harris Print
Category: Folders / Die-Cut Presentation Folders
Winner: GEON
Category: Menus
No winner
Category: Promotional Kit Material - show cards, display cards, promotional displays, etc.
Winner: GEON
Category: Multi - Piece productions and campaigns (including direct mail)
Winner: New Print
Category: Self Promotion
Winners: Flying Colours
New Print
Category: Packaging - any number of colours on any material
Winner: GEON
Category: Labels / Stickers – Litho
No winner
Category: Labels / Stickers – Letterpress
Winner: GEON
Category: Labels / Stickers – Screen
No winner
Category: Labels / Stickers - Flexographic
No winner
Category: Security Printing - stamps, cheques, bank notes, credit cards, scratch tickets etc.
Winner: Flying Colours

Category: Newspaper - Offset
No winner
Category: Newspaper - Web
Winner: The Mercury newspaper
Category: Annual Reports
Winner: GEON
Category: Annual Reports (four or more colours)
Winner: Print Applied
Category: Catalogues
Winner: Focal Printing
Category: Magazines
Winner: Print Applied
Category: Newsletter
Winner: Focal Printing
Category: Books
Winners: Focal Printing
Print Applied
Category: Booklets - bound or stapled, not loose leaf
Winner: Focal Printing
Category: Booklets - bound or stapled, not loose leaf, four or more colours throughout.
Winner: Monotone
Category: Maps
Winner: GEON

Category: Screen Printing - on paper or board
No winner
Category: Screen Printing - on fabric
No winner
Category: Screen Printing - on other material
No winner
Category: Flexographic - on any substrate
No winner
Category: Thermography
No winner
Category: Embellishment
Winner: Foot & Playsted
Category: Digital printing Electro photographic
Winner: Walker Design
Category: Digital printing inkjet
Winner: Flying Colours
Category: Innovation
No winner
Category: Specialty or "special" printing
No winner

Category: Small printing business awards less than 10 staff
No winner
Category: Logos - define and provide a rationale of the range of uses
Winners: Clemenger (x2)
Category: Signage
Winners: Clemenger
Winner: Birrelli
Category: Design not fitting into any other category
No winner
Category: Craftsmanship Award - electronically produced illustration
No winner
Category: Craftsmanship Award - electronically produced illustration, non -photographic
No winner
Category: Craftsmanship Award - Illustration by hand
Winner: Floating World
Category: Students Award - any concept design ready for print production
Winners: School of Art (x2)