SGIA Awards 2019 Product of the Year Winners

SGIA announced the winners of the 2019 Product of the Year competition. The winning products — all produced by PRINTING United exhibitors, and available for sale in 2019 — rose to the top of a field of more than 200 entries in 72 categories.

“Our competition is juried, and judges are scoring entries so they can compare products objectively,” says Ray Weiss, director of digital print programs, SGIA. “For example, in the digital output device categories, winners were based on measurements of test prints. This is the only competition I know of that tells companies the percentage of Adobe RGB gamut a printer can hit.”

The measurement reports — which were produced by the Sonoco Institute at Clemson University and follow the same format as SGIA’s digital equipment evaluations — will be on display at PRINTING United with the entries in the Awards Gallery (Lobby F), allowing attendees to compare printers based on data.

More than two-thirds of the competition categories are for non-output devices — everything from textiles, to substrates, to software. “The products submitted always illustrate trends in the industry, so we saw an uptick in textiles made from recycled materials and workflow software,” Weiss says.

The 2019 judges included Scott Baxter, GAM Graphics and Marketing; Conrad Coe, GAM Graphics and Marketing; Dan Gillespie, Alder Technology; Keith Prichard, TIMSCO; Scott Schoppert, Printing Impressions; Cas Shiver, Sundog Productions; Tony Tribby, Dead Bat Designs; and Kent Walker, Walker Supply Company.

• 3D Printers: Mimaki USA (Booths 5216, 5616, 5620), Mimaki 3DUJ-553
• Automation Equipment (print/post-print): Omniprint International (Booth 2210), Würk
• Automation Equipment — Packaging (post-print): Packsize (Booth 10945), M1
• Banner Finishing (grommet/sew/weld): Leister Technologies (Booth 5004), UNIPLAN 500
• Digital Inks — Solvent/Eco-Solvent/Latex: Roland DGA (Booth 4616), TrueVIS TR2
• Digital Inks — Textile (under 24" wide): Siser North America (Booth 4416), Siser EasySubli Inks
• Digital Inks — Textile (wide-format greater than 36"): Kornit Digital (Booth 1007), Kornit Robusto Ink
• Digital Inks — UV: LogoJET Inc. (Booth 2622), LogoJET H2 UV
• Digital Press: FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division (Booth 8220), Fujifilm J Press 750S
• Digital/Screen Print Hybrid Printing Systems: The M&R Companies (Booths 3016, 3616), DS-4000
• Direct-to-Garment Printers (black shirt): AnaJet Inc (Booth 1800), Ricoh Ri 1000
• Direct-to-Garment Printers (white shirt): Omniprint International (Booth 2210), 330 TX Plus
• Direct-to-Shape Printers (not flatbed): Inkcups (Booth 2011), Helix Hi-Fi for Photorealistic Cylinder Printing
• Display Exhibit Hardware: Birttani Display (Booth 2003), Portable Lightbox System — LUCID 2nd Generation
• Heat Press (large-format roll or clam): HIX Corporation (Booth 800), LF-4464
• Heat Press (table top): Insta Graphic Systems (Booth 4723), Insta 288 Heat Press
• Heat Press Accessories: STAHLS’ (Booth 2600), Hotronix 360° IQ Hat Heat Press
• Laminates, Adhesives, Films, Coatings: Drytac (Booth 6224), Protac Anti-Scratch Gloss — 10 mil
• Laseres/Routers/Cutters (4x8' or larger): Summa nv (Booth 8841), L3214 laser cutter
• Material Handling Equipment: Foster (Booth 7844), All-A-Board Lifter
• Media — Adhesive Back (not vinyl): Drytac (Booth 6224), Polar Chrome
• Media — Adhesive Back Vinyl: Drytac (Booth 6224), ReTac Textures
• Media — Banner (non-textile): Ultraflex Systems Inc. (Booth 8827), FloorFlex Plus
• Media — Dye-Sub rigid material: Duraluxe Inc. (Booth 6904), SATIN the new Textured Semi-Gloss Aluminum Blank From DURALUXE
• Media — Dye-Sub transfer paper: Sawgrass (Booth 1805), TruePix CLASSIC
• Media — Films: Drytac (Booth 6224), ViziPrint Illuminate
• Media — Heat Transfer Material Cuttable: Chemica US (Booth 626), Quickflex Revolution
• Media — Heat Transfer Printable: Insta Graphic Systems (Booth 4723), SiliconeX Custom Heat Transfer
• Media — Non-PVC: Drytac (Booth 6224), ViziPrint Deco SR
• Media — Rigid/Corrugated: Mako-Board (Booth 12453), Mako-Board
• Media — Textile — Apparel: Fisher Textiles (Booth 8033), ET4000 Board Short
• Media — Textile — Banner: Fisher Textiles (Booth 8033), GF4020 Nirvana Purity
• Media — Textile — Canvas: S-One (Booth 6810), Fredrix Metallic Gold Canvas
• Media-— Textile — Flag: Fisher Textiles (Booth 8033), DD7701 Primary Flag
• Media — Textile — Framing Systems (backlit): Fisher Textiles (Booth 8033), UV2610 Tango
• Media — Textile — Framing Systems (frontlit): Fisher Textiles (Booth 8033), GF4020 Nirvana Purity
• Media — Textile — Home Furnishings: Fisher Textiles (Booth 8033), GF9766 Poly Cube
• Roll-to-Roll Direct Disperse Ink on Textile: Roland DGA (Booth 4616), Texart RT-640M
• Roll-to-Roll Dye-Sublimation on Metal: Epson (Booths 5410, 5610), Epson SureColor F6370
• Roll-to-Roll Solvent/Latex (80"+): Mutoh America (Booth 4404), ValueJet 2638X
• Roll-to-Roll Solvent/Latex (under 80"): Roland DGA (Booth 4616), TrueVIS VG2
• Roll-to-Roll UV (80"+): EFI (Booth 8233), EFI VUTEk 5r+ Superwide Roll-to-Roll LED Printer
• Roll-to-Roll UV (under 80"): Canon Solutions America (Booth 7016), Océ Colorado 1650
• RTR Dye-Sub on Textile ($50,000 - $100,000): DGI (Booth 8227), FT-3204X
• RTR Dye-Sub on Textile ($100,000+): DGI (Booth 8227), FH-3204
• RTR Dye-Sub on Textile (under $50,000): DGI (Booth 8227), POSEIDON
• RTR/Hybrid/Flatbed New Technology or Inkset: Durst Image Technology U.S. (Booth 7816), Delta WT 250
• Screen Printing — Automatic Garment Press: The M&R Companies (Booths 3016, 3616), DIAMONDBACK E Automatic Screen Printing Press
• Screen Printing — Manual Garment Press: The M&R Companies (Booths 3016, 3616), GENESIS Manual Screen Printing Press
• Screen Printing — Pre-press (exposure/imaging): The M&R Companies (Booths 3016, 3616), i-Image KX Computer-to-Screen Imaging & Exposure System
• Screen Printing Dryers: The M&R Companies (Booths 3016, 3616), Sprint 3000 D Gas Screen Printing Conveyor Dryer
• Single-Pass Printer: Durst Image Technology US (Booth 7816), Delta SPC 130
• Software — Color Enhancement: EFI (Booth 8233), EFI ColorGuard
• Software — RIP: Canon Solutions America (Booth 7016), Océ Touchstone Software
• Software — Web-based design: Printbox (Booth 12351), Printbox
• Software — Workflow / MIS / CRM: EFI (Booth 8233), EFI Fiery JobFlow
• Sublimation Finishing: HIX Corporation (Booth 800), CT SubliPro
• Tabletop Flatbed: LogoJET (Booth 2622), LogoJET UVx40R 18x18"
• Textile — Finished Garment — Accessories: Terry Town (Booth 1601), Sublimated Throw Pillow
• Textile — Finished Garment — Blends: Terry Town (Booth 1601), Sublimated Luggage Cover
• Textile — Finished Garment — Synthetic: Terry Town (Booth 1601), Sublimated Seat Cushion
• UV Hybrid ($100,000 - $500,000): EFI (Booth 8233), EFI VUTEk 32h Superwide Hybrid LED Printer
• UV Hybrid/Flatbed High Volume Production Class: Vanguard Digital Printing Systems (Booth 8450), VKL300D
• UV/Latex Flatbed (under $70,000): LogoJET (Booth 2622), LogoJET UVx90R 24x36"
• UV/Latex Flatbed ($100,000 - $200,000): HP Inc. (Booths 6407, 6416), HP Latex R Printer Series
• UV/Latex Flatbed ($200,000 - $500,000): Agfa (Booth 8242), Jeti Mira 2732 HS LM LED
• UV/Latex Flatbed (under $100,000): Mimaki USA (Booths 5216, 5616, 5620), JFX200-2513EX
• UV/Latex Flatbed +White ($100,000 - $200,000): Canon Solutions America (Booth 7016), Océ Arizona 1380 XT
• UV/Latex Flatbed +White ($200,000 - $500,000): HP Inc. (Booths 6407, 6416), HP Latex R Printer Series
• UV/Latex Hybrid (under $100,000): Mutoh America (Booth 4404), ValueJet 1638U