Westmoreland Printers, Inc. wins prestigious PICA awards

Staff Reports | The Shelby Independent

Westmoreland Printers, Inc. staff. | Courtesy photo

Charlotte, NC — The Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA) announced that Westmoreland Printers, Inc. in Shelby, NC, won the coveted Athens Best Printing (Division A) Award. This is the highest award given to a printing company of its size. In addition, Westmoreland Printers received four Best of Category awards. The awards were announced on Saturday, April 18, at the 60th Diamond Anniversary PICA Awards Banquet in Charlotte, NC.

The Athens Paper Best Printing Award was for "The Sleeping Giant, Stories About WWII As Recollected by a Nine-year-old Boy." The book, written by Larry Smith, a 91-year-old veteran who served in the Air Force for 21 years and in the Vietnam War, was designed by Beverly Stone of Westmoreland Printers and printed in full color with a UV-coated cover.

In addition to "The Sleeping Giant," the company earned three additional awards. An invitation for the Earl Scruggs Center grand reopening was printed in full color, foil-stamped, and die-cut with a scored gatefold, designed by the Earl Scruggs Center. In The Middle was written by and designed by Beverly Stone of Westmoreland Printers as a gift for her middle child. "Untying the Knots" is about the author's experience growing up as an African American in Shelby, NC, and was written by Virginia M. Williamson, with design by Nikki Cook of Westmoreland Printers.

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, the difficulty of printing, effective contrast or softness, finishing, bindery, and overall visual impact.

“We are proud to be recognized by our peers as among the best in the industry. We continue to adapt as our market changes, but customer service and timely production, while maintaining the highest quality standards, remain the driving force,” stated the President of Westmoreland Printers, Wes Westmoreland.

Founded in 1999 in the early days of the digital revolution, Westmoreland Printers quickly rose to become one of the most accredited printers in the Charlotte market, having been recognized well over one hundred times by the Printing Industries of the Carolinas and the International Association of Printing House Craftsmen for excellence in print production on paper and leading the market in technology.

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