Sleeve labeling award winners 2020 announced

Entries for the 2020 AWA International Sleeve Label Awards were received and judged just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Still, the announcement of the winners was delayed, taking place during the AWAVirtual International Sleeve Label Conference and Exhibition in November 2020.

Heat-shrink sleeve labeling applications dominated many entries received, a reflection of the technology’s current popularity in the packaging market. Judges Seamus Lafferty, president of Accraply; Rolf Montag, product manager for the narrow web at Siegwerk; and AWA’s vice president, William Llewellyn selected the winners that demonstrated technology perfection and outstanding design and used leading-edge print enhancements.   

McDowell Label, Texas, USA, were not only winners in the Heat-shrink TD Sleeve category, but also as the Best in Show for its labels on containers for Cellucor’s special 10th-anniversary limited edition of C4 Dynasty pre-workout energy supplement. The sleeve featured ten colors, combination coatings, crisp-dot screen work, and two types of advanced holographic foiling with a complex, highly-recognizable brand design and production excellence.

Earning the sleeve label award for an Environmental Contribution to Sustainable Packaging is Sleever International, for its first commercial application for LDPET food-grade sleeve films, which are labeling PET-bottled San Pellegrino Essenza waters. The films’ transparency and premium printability are coupled with full compatibility with the clear PET recycling process and the option to create food-grade R-PET. The judges considered this a worthy forward step in sleeve environmental capabilities.

The judges also awarded two Certificates of Merit in the Heat-shrink TD Sleeve category.   Masterpress of Poland earned its certificate for hybrid-printed luxurious Formula One racing Grand Prix Limited Edition bottle labels on Stock Prestige Vodka, which features a top-to-bottom soft-touch rubber-tire surface effect. Also recognized with a Certificate of Merit was Fast Track Packaging of Guelph, Canada, for Heat-shrink TD Sleeves on cans of Impériale Choco Noisette stout, which cleverly and cost-effectively delivered a premium, tactile metallic finish without metallic inks. 

Announcing the winners during the AWAVirtual conference, Corey Reardon, president and CEO of AWA Alexander Watson Associates, underlined the fact that these annual AWA-sponsored awards, now in its sixth year, continue to deliver ‘exceptional examples of what shrink sleeve technology has achieved today’. 

Follow our Instagram account to see all award-winning sleeves showcased online.