DCCI & Printing and Publishing Group to honor winners at the first UAE Print Award 2006

The celebration will be held under the patronage of Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority.

The awards ceremony will be attended by Engineer Hamad Buamim, DCCI Director General, Ahmed bin Al Shaikh, Chairman of the Printing & Publishing Group and member of the Dubai Council for Economic Affairs, Nuha Mohammed Safar, Director of Marketing & Communication Department at the DCCI as well as representatives of the International Media Production Zone (IMPZ) which grants the awards, and the main sponsors of the awards including HP Invent, Heidelberg and Awraq Publishing, and a number of the Printing & Publishing Group members, the winners and representatives of the local media.

Engineer Hamad Buamim, DCCI Director General, expressed his satisfaction on the launch of the UAE Print award 2006 which helps provoke the printing and publishing companies in Dubai to improve their performances and enhance their competitiveness in order to present their best quality products benefiting from the latest technology utilized in this industry.

"The DCCI is always keen to be present at such significant events in accordance to our strategy that aims at supporting the business community and business groups which the DCCI established representing several economic sectors, as well as providing the best services and launching effective initiatives that help in enhancing the best practices in business," said Buamim.

Ahmed bin Al Shaikh, Chairman of the Printing & Publishing Group, pointed out that the UAE Print Award 2006, being the first of its kind in the UAE printing industry, is just a first step toward ensuring the best practices of this sector, and an encouraging result of the effective collaboration with the DCCI. He added that the award is expected to cover all printing companies in the GCC countries next year.

"The awards handing over ceremony would be a chance to evaluate and appreciate the efforts of the winning printing companies and an opportunity to encourage other establishments to develop their tools, hoping that Dubai becomes the top in the printing and publishing industry in the Arab World," said Al Shaikh.

Nuha Safar, Director of Marketing & Communication Department at the DCCI, stressed the importance of this award in stimulating the sense of competition among the printing and publishing establishments and the development of printing industry through urging its experts in adopting the latest technologies to produce highest quality of publications.

"The UAE Print Award 2006 is a remarkable outcome of the efforts paid by the Printing & Publishing Group which operates in full coordination with the DCCI as one of its 19 business groups. No doubt, this award motivates other business groups to follow aiming to develop the economic sector each business group stands for," Safar added.

The Printing and Publishing Group Chairman pointed out that the UAE Print Award 2006 will be granted to winners of 13 different categories which include the best printing of flyers, best production of POP materials and posters, best printing of magazines, best printing/production of books, best printing of annual reports, best printing/production of greeting cards, best printing/production of 12 calendar pages, best printing of brochures and catalogues, best printing of directories, best printing/production of boxes, best printing/production of trays, best printing of daily/weekly newspapers and the innovation Award based on uniqueness and creativity.

Al Shaikh said that the growth rate of printing and publishing sector has increased by 15% to 25% along with the growth of other economic sectors in Dubai. The overall spending of the printing industry is ranged between AED 8 to 10 billion, he added.

The judging committee of the UAE Print Award 2006 includes representatives of the world leading brand name printing machines who will select the winners according to certain criteria.

The Awards granting ceremony will be held at Barajeel Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai on December 17th during a gala dinner interrupted by two presentations on the history of printing and latest printing technology.