Rich Thompson named World Print Champion

Rich Thompson, the president of AdGraphics, has been named as FESPA's World Print Champion; earning him a place in the Hall of Fame 2012.

According to Print Week, the honour is bestowed upon those who are the "leading lights of the wide format print community". Some 6,000 votes were casts in the competition, from professionals like wide or large-format printing specialists spanning 40 different countries.

FESPA - also known as the Federation of European Screen Printers - also hailed the innovation of Kishore Musale (from India's Classic Stripes) and Turkey-based print professional, Birol Fedai in its top five. FESPA's head of events and new media, Duncan MacOwan, called the 2012 Hall of Fame an "unbelievable success".

He went on to say: "The number of nominations and votes far exceeded our expectations as printers voted in their droves from countries all over the world.

"It goes to prove once again the international audience that FESPA commands, and how valued these excellent printers are to our industry. The winner of this award must be very proud as this is an amazing accolade voted for by their peers."

FESPA paid thanks to those who voted Thompson into the Hall of Fame on Wideformatonline.com, in addition to congratulating all who made the cut.