Kept under wraps until the final moments of the Awards Gala at Strategy 08, the Canadian Printing Industries Association presented its second annual Young Printer Award to Todd Cober of Cober Printing in Kitchener, Ontario.

Drawing attention to the future of the industry, the Young Printer Award is a highlight of the National Conference for the Printing Industry in Canada, held this year in Halifax, September 18-20. Cober is a graduate of Ryerson University's Graphic Communications Management program and a fourth generation printer in this family-owned business. He was a runner-up for the Award last year.

The Strategy 08 Conference has been heralded by attendees as one of the most energized and educationally-rich conferences in years. With an overall theme of "Protecting Your Profits", the event kicked off with a keynote presentation by Gord Griffiths (pictured left), President & CEO of Grafikom, the $120 million multi-plant sheetfed operation headquartered in Toronto. Below are some snapshots from the event, courtesy of Brian Ellis of Heidelberg Canada.

CPIA's new Chair, Louise Kralka from PDI Groupe in Montreal, moderated a customer panel on day one of the Conference.	Réal Boulet, Vice President Efficiency and Innovation with Transcontinental addressed the topic of lean manufacturing in the printing industry.
CPIA's second annual Young Printer Award was presented to last year's runner up, Todd Cober of Cober Printing in Kitchener, Ontario. Pictured at the Awards Gala (l-r): Bob Elliott, CPIA; Todd Cober, Cober Printing; Michael Makin, PIA/GATF; and Sean Murray, past-Chair CPIA and President Advocate Printing, Pictou, Nova Scotia.	Award recipients (l-r): Bob Elliott, CPIA president; Michael Makin, CEO PIA/GATF; Tracey Preston, OPIA; Todd Cober, Cober Printing; Remi Marcoux, founder of Transcontinental; Don Gain, President of Harmony Printing in Toronto; Dave Potje, partner of Twin City Dwyer Printing in Kitchener, Ontario; Cyndie Crysler, Muller Martini Canada; Sean Murray, Advocate Print and Brian Ellis, Heidelberg Canada.
Photography by Brian Ellis