A Year of Big Awards in Digital Printing!!!
On April 25th, AlphaGraphics Downtown Kansas City attended the 30th annual GraphEx Awards Gala, hosted at the historic Uptown Theater in downtown Kansas City, Missouri by PIA Mid-America. The Big Top Circus themed “Print Show” included an evening of networking and celebration with the printing industry’s top companies and professionals.
Every year our team saves samples from our favorite projects to submit to the Print Industries of America (PIA) industry awards. After carefully reviewing each piece, the judges decide which of the submissions meet and exceed their expectations. The best submissions are then recognized for their excellence.
This year, out of nearly 400 entries, we won 3 Best of Category Awards and 3 Awards of Recognition. To our surprise, on the night of the awards, we found out that we had also won two Platinum Awards! Guests of the gala are invited to vote on their favorite entry for the People’s Choice Award; we were beyond thrilled to learn that our Interactive Conference Room Sample Wall was the winner!
“Our members should be extremely proud — receiving a GraphEx award puts their work among the top in our region,” said Teresa Campbell, PIA Mid-America president. “We are extremely proud of the talent and quality from the companies in our four-state association.”
Read more about our award-winning clients below!
1.) Holiday Card - Best of Category Greeting Cards
WNB Architects is a full-service architectural firm and a repeat award winner from last year’s PIA gala. WNB always comes to us when they have a custom project in the works. Last year’s holiday season was no different. They usually design their own holiday cards, but for this one, they enlisted a bit of help. 
WNB announced a contest to elementary students in the KC Public School District with the theme of “Winter Holidays in Kansas City”. The winning entry was created by Bridget G., a fourth-grade student at Border Star Montessori School. WNB then used her artwork to create a holiday card which included a punch out ornament and a hook for hanging. The card was then distributed to over 1,000 of WNB’s clients, family, and friends.
- The card was digitally printed on 130# uncoated cover before being scored, folded, perforated, and die-cut.
2.) Guardian's of the Game Journal - Award of Recognition, Division 1, Lamination
The National Association of Basketball Coaches is an organization of basketball coaches headquartered right here in Kansas City. Their purpose is to 
unite coaches and players alike with the ideals of integrity, sportsmanship, and teamwork. NABC came to us with a request: they needed a special gift for their coaches. After careful deliberation with their account manager Amanda, they decided to go with a laminated, paperback, “Guardians of the Game” journal.
- The book was printed offset on a 10PT cover & 60# accent with 1.2 mil soft-touch laminate, and perfect bound.
3.) Wine Journal - Award of Recognition, Division 1, Specialty, and Novelty Printed Materials
Gregory & Vine is a full-service public relations and marketing agency. They specialize in hospitality, food, 
events, and destination branding. This project was designed for a client's special event. Their team created a custom wine journal and wanted the printing to be just as custom. The journal needed to be functional and attention-grabbing in a sea of wine products.
- The book was wire-o bound and printed with white toner then enhanced with black foil on a double-thick kraft cover.
4.) CIRE Business Cards - Award of Recognition, Division 1, Specialty Printing Digital/Offset Hybrid
CIRE Travel is a team of travel experts, unique because they specialize in both corporate and individual travel.
EAG Marketing brought CIRE to us with a problem. Their client had specific brand colors and a desired finish that other printing companies were struggling to achieve. EAG and their account manager, Haley, worked closely together to test out many options; offset vs. digital printing, soft touch vs. matte, before finally achieving the desired effect!
- These cards were printed offset with two Pantone Spot colors on 14pt C2S and laminated with 5 mil matte laminate.
Last but not least, our own printing projects!
Both of these are very special to us as they were both a collaborative team effort.
5.) AlphaGraphics KC Window Graphics, Best of Category Wide and Grand Format Printing & Platinum Award for Best of Digital
First is our window graphics for the front of our building at 1717 Oak St. If you’ve ever been to our office, you know that our sales team sits right behind our giant windows that face Oak Street--and we love that! However, especially during the summer months, those windows become magnifying glasses for Missouri’s summer heat and our office temperatures become unbearable. Thus the several-month-long project was born. We collaborated with Jessica Janasz of Cityscape Design and shared our vision. We wanted something that reflected our love and respect for our city, whilst also showcasing our abilities as a company. The results were truly amazing, we had so much fun working with Jessica and our production team in creating a product that we could all be proud of. Read More Here.
- These graphics were produced on our HP Latex 360 machine with perforated window vinyl, laminated, and installed by our production team.
6) Interactive Conference Room Sample Wall, Best of Category Integrated Marketing, Platinum Award for Best of Kansas City, and PIA People's Choice
Our last piece to receive a printing award is the Interactive Sample Wall in our conference room. Our sales and production team collaborated together on this project to transform the large grey wall space in our conference room. The goal was to showcase the different substrates and materials that we can use to create custom 
signage solutions in a way that also highlighted the city we love. BlackBurrow Creative is a great local photographer who agreed to photograph our city from the unique perspective of the Crossroads Arts District. Sean provided us
with a time-filtered high-resolution photograph that we could then install on our 18 ft wall. Our graphic designer, Scott, and the whole production team worked together to create multiple panels using a variety of 3M substrates and laminates to create a dynamic 3D effect.
- Graphics were produced on our HP Latex 360 machine, utilizing several 3M substrates and laminates. Check out the video to learn more!
“I am so proud of my team and the amazing work they do.
Humbled that I get to be their leader.
You guys rock and I love you!”
- AlphaGraphics KC President, Haley Haar.
For more information regarding the PIA Mid-America’s annual GraphEx Awards, visit their site, PIA Mid-America.
For further information about AlphaGraphics Kansas City and their capabilities, contact the AGKC team at 816-842-4200 or visit their website, AlphaGraphics KC.
Don’t miss a thing! Make sure to follow our social channels:
