Eligibility
The Pinnacle Awards are designed specifically to recognize innovations from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), equipment manufacturers, and suppliers who create the products, technologies, or services used by printers and print service providers.
Because the awards focus on honoring the creators and producers of the equipment, software, and materials that support the printing industry, printers themselves — even though they are an essential part of the industry — fall outside of the eligibility criteria. The intent is to highlight and celebrate the companies that supply the tools and solutions used by printers, rather than the printing work itself.
- Who can participate in the Pinnacle Awards?
- The competition is for manufacturers, OEMs, and suppliers who are members of PRINTING United Alliance. You must have a corporate supplier membership in order to participate in the Competition.
- Are Print Brokers who are members of PRINTING United Alliance eligible to participate in the Pinnacle Awards?
- Members who are corporate printers cannot enter the Pinnacle Awards. Only member companies that are Corporate Suppliers can enter.
- I am a corporate supplier who wants to submit on behalf of a client. Can I still submit an entry?
- No, Submissions must come directly from a member company, submission cannot be made on behalf of another company.
- As a PRINTING United Alliance member who has an individual supplier account can I enter the Awards?
- No, participation in the awards is a benefit of being a corporate supplier company member.
FAQs
- How can I be sure you have received my entry?
- Entrants receive an email confirmation when they enter along with a link to the Guidelines document, which is the guide for all entries.
- What are the entry terms and conditions?
- PRINTING United Alliance assumes all entries have permission from an appropriate party to enter the nominee. In the event that an entrant without such rights submits an entry, the entrant will not be eligible for the competition. PRINTING United Alliance is not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant. Submission of any entry acknowledges the right of PRINTING United Alliance to use it for exhibition and publication in any medium.Timely submission of an entry meeting the eligibility requirements and payment of the entry fee as stated herein ensures that an entry will be reviewed and considered for recognition.
If an entry receives an award, the manner and details of announcing such nomination and award is strictly within the discretion of PRINTING United Alliance. We are committed to publicizing all Pinnacle Awards recipients in the same manner.
- Do you have to be based in the United States to participate?
- We encourage and welcome entries from all over the world. All submissions must be in English to participate.
- Is it possible to receive judges’ ratings and comments for my entry?
- Judges’ score sheets are available upon request.
- How many entrants win a Pinnacle Award each year?
- The Pinnacle Award consists of about 85 categories this year (it can vary from year-to-year). Not all categories have a winner. For those categories with less than three entries, the entry must receive a minimum score for a winner to be declared. Typically, 65-75 winners are chosen in any given year.
- How do I order a trophy?
- You can order a trophy by filling out this FORM and returning it to lferrari@printing.org.
- How many Pinnacle Award trophies can I purchase for my team or other office locations?
- There is no limit; you can purchase as many Pinnacle Award trophies as you’d like. Each award is $200 and includes shipping.
- Can we submit videos?
- For Non-Output entries in the categories of Finishing, Automation or screen print equipment categories, you may submit a video to help the judges better understand the capabilities of your product. For software categories, send a link and/or video for your product for the judges to review. This is in addition to the image that must be submitted for use in the virtual gallery.
- When does the competition open?
- The competition opens Monday February 2nd, 2026.
- Can I submit the same device in the Output category every year?
- Yes, Output winners are determined by specific metrics. Since hardware and software updates happen each year, we encourage you to submit updated entries annually.
- Are output devices required to be announced/shipping by a certain time to be considered eligible?
- Device(s) must be available for purchase by the Expo. Click on the link for information about this year’s Printing United Expo.
Steps in the Submission Process
- Output
- Click for Instructions
- Non-output
- Click for Instructions
- Technology
- Click for Instructions