FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2003

MACtac® Launches Worldwide Awards Program - Contest opened to the Americas after successful years in Europe

Stow, Ohio ­ April 2, 2003 ­ MACtac®, a world-leading producer of self-adhesive vinyl films for the sign industry is launching the “MACtac Worldwide Awards ­ 2004.” The program will single out impressive projects from all over the world that have been produced by companies in, or related to, the sign industry during 2002/2003.

Prizes will be awarded separately in three geographic areas: 1.) The Americas; 2.) Europe; and 3.) Middle East/Africa/Asia/Oceania. An independent jury will judge entries in four categories: Vehicle Graphics (cars, buses, trucks, trains, planes); Exterior Signs (billboards, buildings, events); Interior Signs (showrooms, tradeshows, shops, museums); and Technical Achievement (3-D shapes, large-scale projects and other demanding applications).

Making the announcement, John Chapell, MACtac Americas corporate marketing manager, said, “Following the great popularity of three consecutive MACtac Awards Programs offered in Europe, MACtac has been anticipating the launch of this program on a global scale. It will enable us to realize one of our main goals ­ to extend the opportunity for application idea sharing with different parts of the world.”

Chapell explains, “Winning entries will be shared with the sign and digital printing media, as well as distributed to thousands of end users in a published awards book. These communications will provide a unique source of information on trends in visual communication and also promote pressure sensitive films for the benefit of the entire industry.”

Scope
The “MACtac Worldwide Awards ­ 2004” is open to projects produced in 2002/2003 using either digital printing or CAS techniques and utilizing MACtac’s marking, digital and screen printing films, including MACmark®, IMAGin®, Thermacolor®, MACscreen® and Permacolor® materials.

Entries may be submitted by sign-makers, converters, applicators, digital printers, advertising agencies, studios and end-users. Information on the program rules and official entry forms, which must accompany every entry, can be viewed and downloaded from the MACtac Awards Program Web site, www.MACtac-awards.com, or they can be obtained from a MACtac distributor.

Criteria
The independent jury will evaluate entries in each territory using two key criteria: 1.) Creativity and Visual Impact; 2.) Technical Achievement ­ converting and application skills. Judging will be based on job complexity, size, project organization and efficiency.

The Jury
To ensure total impartiality and skillful assessment of entries, the jury in each territory is comprised of editors of leading sign industry and digital publications as well as independent experts in the fields of design, digital printing, sign-making and application skills. Each jury will be chaired in a similar manner to past committees in Europe, when the president of FESPA assumed the role.

Running the first global event in three parallel territories will ensure entries are evaluated according to the commercial and cultural references operating in each territory.

Jury experts in the Americas will include Mike McEnaney, editor, Digital Output; Blair Adams, editorial director, Signs Canada; Wade Swormstedt, editor, Signs of the Times; Nancy Bottoms, associate publisher/editor, Signs of the Times & Screen Printing en Español; Barbara Pellow, digital expert, RIT School of Printing; and Rob Ivers, head instructor, PDAA.

Prizes
In the Americas, the jury will select a winner for each of the four categories: Vehicle Graphics, Interior Signs, Exterior Signs and Technical Achievement. In addition, it will select three regional winners, irrespective of the categories, for: the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Category winners in the Americas will win an intercontinental trip for two, including airfare and accommodations. Regional winners will be awarded a weekend trip for two to an attractive destination within the Americas.

The same award and prize structure will operate in the Middle East/Africa/Asia/Oceania and Europe.

Publicity
All first, second and third place award winners will receive high visibility editorial coverage in the sign and digital printing trade media. These winners and their work will also be featured in the “MACtac Worldwide Awards ­ 2004” magazine-style book. This printed book will be distributed worldwide to many of the largest companies responsible for the specification and use of signs.

Presentation of winning entries on the company’s Web site will also play a key publicity role and extend the cross-fertilization of application ideas across the world.

Deadline
Closing date for entries, in the form of high-quality photographs (minimum 5” x 7”) or high-resolution prints or digital files (minimum: 600 dpi), must be received from sign-makers, applicators and others responsible for designing, producing or applying signs by January 31, 2004. Winners will be informed by the close of the first quarter 2004.

MACtac, a leading supplier of pressure sensitive adhesive materials, offers solutions for a wide range of industries including printing, graphic design, packaging, digital imaging, photographic, assembly engineering, medical and communications. MACtac is a subsidiary of the Bemis Company, Inc., the largest flexible packaging supplier in North America. Headquartered in Stow, Ohio, MACtac is a global company with manufacturing and distribution facilities in several countries.

MACtac
John Chapell

Stow, Ohio
Phone: 330.689.2290
Fax:
E-Mail: John.Chapell@MACtac.com
Website URL: www.mactac.com