Top publishing, production and manufacturing professionals scrutinize all Gold Ink Awards entries.

North American Publishing Company is the proud host of the annual Gold Ink Awards print production competition. A panel of distinguished professionals adjudicate entries nearly 50 distinctive categories. While the Gold Ink Awards is not a design competition, we feel that design cannot always be separated from the production of the entries. Given that, we encourage our judges to analyze how design has influenced the production decisions made for each entry.

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The following are a few guidelines our judges follow as they review each piece:

1. Consider the difficulty of the job. Are there multiple colors used? Was there a difficult registration pattern? Are there complex foil stamps or typically difficult effects used?


2. Was the paper choice appropriate and/or effective for the piece? Or did they do an exceptional job with paper that is difficult to use?


3. Was the binding and finishing techniques clever, effective and/or unique?


4. Was the piece particularly challenging to manufacture? And, if so, was its production well done?


5. Was any specialized printing used to produce the piece (i.e., Did they do a good job with stochastic screening or waterless printing)?


6. Is your overall impression of the piece favorable? Is it particularly appealing in terms of appearance, quality and aesthetic impact?

Please note:

If you have any questions about judging criteria for the Gold Ink Awards contest, please contact Contest Administrator Mike Cooper at (215) 238-5434 or e-mail