Discover what type of a printer you are: Are you Djokovic or Federer or Nadal? Or are you Quentin Halys? - The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column
So what determines an Award? Two and a half lakh firms in India print, produce jobs, daily, round-the-clock. Why is it that only 24 succeed on the Awards night in October?
07 Jul 2017 | By Noel D'Cunha
What type of a printer are you? (Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons)
Let me borrow an example from the game of tennis.
Some printers are like Rafael Nadal. They follow the "low error" and relentless stamina strategy that he abides by.
Others are like Novak Djokovic. A lot of flair and new skills.
Then there the others. Like the French tennis player, Quentin Halys who played one crazy shot which has gone viral on YouTube. He is creative and has a lot of flair.
But do you remember his name? No.
There are others too: Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov.
Why don't we remember their names?
Perhaps they lack the killer instinct for being a winner that belongs to a Nadal or Djokovic.
So, it's not just a matter of possessing talent.
It is also a matter of unlocking the talent.
It is about maximising it.
It is about winning.
Like Roger Federer who has phenomenal natural talent. Where the Swiss scores is, he has taken the practical steps of making the most of it.
That's how he won the Australian Open in January. Federer had lost six of the last eight Grand Slam finals he'd played against. Six months ago, Federer defied age, injury and Rafael Nadal to win the epic Australian Open.
How?
Sometimes a winner needs to rewrite the rules.
Federer rewrote the rules of the game which heavily favours the young and agile with incredible speed and reflexes.
What Federer told Time magazine in an interview is a good marker to any print or packaging firm in India about what one can do.
"We mixed fitness and tennis. And at the end of October we were going kind of full out already, but in short bursts of time, not too long, not too many days in a row, always a sufficient break. Because I took six months off, I actually had sufficient time to get through all the processes we were looking forward to. Then at the end, all of December, I was going all out. It was just being clever with my scheduling, making sure I'm not getting hurt," said Federer.
Like Federer, a firm needs to look at other things: hard work, training, experience and strategy.
If you can accomplish complicated post-press work, in-house, so be it. If not delegate.
Top heavy management vs entrepreneurial go-to-market method.
Decide your approach.
Are you Sherlock Holmes, who will solve the case with style and panache and a bit of razzmatazz?
Or are you Kurt Wallander who will work hard and do solid policework?
Or are you Byomkesh Bakshi, who will do both?
Which method do you follow? (Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons)
All three approaches are do-able.
All three are ace detectives.
All three have a high success rate.
Therefore decide your goal!
Are you Quentin Halys, who is happy to participate in a Championship and once-in-a-blue-moon upset a tennis great?
Or you are participating for win the trophy?
For us at PrintWeek India Awards, all printers (like tennis players) are important.
But obviously, there can be only one winner.
Is it YOU?
The other question, I am asked is: Define award winning!
A precise definition is impossible.
For example, when the PWI Award Jury sits down and looks at the 1500 samples, it is tough to say which one is creative, and which sample is technological.
Sometimes it's a simple matter of which is a bullish category.
Growth helps.
Since a client pours money into the product.
For instance, the fabrication work in photo albums or wide format is mind boggling. Likewise, the samples in print magazines and newspapers have seen a steady sort of print application.
But then, is an Award only a measure of the tech specs.
Which is why we audit the jobs.
Which is why we look at a print job from the point of view of YOUR customer.
Success as stated by your P&L.
Success as stated in a glowing letter from a customer.
Success is managing a large company.
Or personal success which is the feeling only YOU have when YOU know that a job has been well done.
All of the above.
Or none of the above.
Sometimes success can be Raymond Rubicam's edict, Resist the usual!
And be a part of a roomful of successful print firms in October.
The eight edition of PWI Awards witnessed 132 print firms across India participate
The entry for the PrintWeek Awards is now open, and you can send in your best print samples by 10 August 2017.
Do claim your place in the industry’s flagship awards scheme.
The PrintWeek Awards are the industry’s premier scheme, celebrating the best in business and production performance.
With two dozen categories, there’s an award suitable for every type of print company, large and small, and the entries are independently judged by leading print buyers and business experts.
As well as being lauded in front of more than 300 of the industry’s finest at the awards dinner in October, details of the shortlisted, commended and winning companies are published in print and online, with companies able to use the Awards logo in their marketing.
"The PrintWeek India Awards is one of the greatest recognition of our good work in the printing and packaging industry. It sets a benchmark for us to improve ourselves in the future," says Ramesh Kejriwal (winner of PrintWeek India Printing Company of the Year 2016).
"The PrintWeek Awards are seen as the industry’s premier awards and are most recognised by the wider audience."
For the full rundown of categories and entry requirements, please visit www.printweekindiaawards.com.
If you would like to discuss your entry or have any questions, please contact our team on 022 23787558 or email on priya.raju@haymarketsac.com as soon as possible.
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