Fespa has opened entries for its awards programme as it prepares for the co-located Fespa Global Print Expo, European Sign Expo and Personalisation Experience set for Berlin in May 2025.
Graeme Richardson-Locke, head of Association and Technical Lead at Fespa, says, “On behalf of the judges, we hope to be surprised by new levels of technical excellence and clear evidence that the entry has been created with the greatest care, reflecting the professional standards that we’ve seen over many years.
“For entries this year, we are interested in seeing the use of appropriate and sustainable materials, reflecting the wider industry’s goal of reducing its environmental impact.”
The Fespa Awards welcomes entries to the following categories:
• Display and POP on Paper and Board
• Packaging on Paper and Board
• Display and POP on Plastic
• Packaging on Plastics
• Posters
• Serigraphies and Fine Art
• Decals and Printed Labels
• Wrapping
• Creative Special Effects – Paper Board and Plastics
• Special Effects on T-shirts, Garments and Other Textiles
• Printed Garments
• Roll-to-Roll Printed Textiles
• Glass, Ceramic, Metal and Wood Products
• Direct Printing on Three Dimensional Products
• Non-Printed Signage
• Functional Printing – Fascias, Dials, Name plates
• Printeriors
The final category, the Young Star Award, is open to individuals aged 16-25 who are vocational trainees or students in digital or screen printing and design. To enter, applicants can submit their work in any print related category. Richardson-Locke says, “We are always thrilled to review the entries for the Young Star category and impressed by the standard of work submitted. We see creative thinking and technical delivery to a standard which demonstrates that we have new talent coming up within the industry, a topic which is really important to Fespa and its associations. It’s hard having to choose but for the winner, the accolade marks a significant achievement. We hold them to a high standard and don’t make it easy to win.”
Fespa will open the People’s Choice Award to voting from January 6, 2025, with the Fespa online community casting their votes across all categories. In contrast, a panel of judges from Fespa chooses the Best in Show Award and the Judges’ Award for Innovation.
Printers and sign-makers have until December 12, 2024 to submit their entries for the 2025 Fespa Awards. Fespa will announce the shortlisted entries on February 23, 2025 and showcased them from May 6-9, 2025 at Messe Berlin, Germany.
