Charlotte, NC — The Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA) has announced that Commercial Printing Company of Raleigh is an award winner in the 2013 PICA Awards Competition. The announcement was made April 26, 2014, during the 2013 PICA Awards Banquet in Concord, North Carolina, with more than 200 industry professionals in attendance. The PICA Awards competition is one of the largest printing contests in the nation.

This year, the PICA Awards attracted more than 600 entries from 53 printing companies, along with more than 300 entries from 7 graphic arts high schools and 8 college graphic arts programs from across the Carolinas.

Commercial Printing Company won 1 Best of Category Award, 2 Special Judges Awards and 1 Award of Excellence. Only one “Best of” may be given in each category. One or more Special Judges Award or Awards of Excellence may be given in each category, limited to no more than one third of total entries per category. 
 
A panel of out of state judges with extensive experience in printing and print production was brought in to examine the work. Each entry was judged on its own merit in a category with similar printed pieces. The judging criteria included: registration, crossovers, clarity and neatness, sharpness of halftones and line drawings, richness and tonal qualities of color, paper and ink selection, ink coverage, difficulty of printing, effective contrast or softness, finishing, bindery, and overall visual impact.

PICA is a trade association representing the graphic communications industry in North and South Carolina.  North Carolina ranks as the 18th largest state print market in the United States with $3.7 billion in sales, 1,410 total printing establishments and 22,111 employees.  South Carolina ranks 29th in the nation, with $1.4 billion in sales, 553 establishments, and 8,522 employees. PICA is headquartered in Charlotte, NC. For more information, visit www.picanet.org.