Pride In Print Awards

SUMMARY

CATEGORY WINNERS

1 Publications - Urbis magazine
2 Business Print - Festivals Collectors’ Sheet of Stamps
3 Packaging - Cadbury Milk Tray 200g box
4 Labels – Totara Sauvignon Blanc 2010
5 Display Print – Joint Winners - Loreal Maybelline Colossal Lashes stand
King Collection Translite
6 Promotional Print – Jennifer and Andrew’s Wedding
7 Specialty Products - The Colemans – A Countdown Story, screen printed tee shirts
8 Industry Development - Solagard low sheen semi-gloss paint pails

PROCESS WINNERS
Web printing –Valley Voice
Flexible packaging - Aria Farms Pam’s Vege & Chicken Stir Fry
Sheetfed/Offset – Urbis magazine
Digital - Kings Collection Translite
Finishing - Julia Grace CD Holder
Screen – The Colemans - A Countdown Story

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CATEGORY WINNERS
Supreme Winner
Publications Winner and Sheetfed/Offset Process Winner

Urbis Raises the Bar in Pride In Print

Glossy magazine Urbis has carried off the Supreme Award at the 2011 New Zealand Pride In Print Awards, stunning judges with a complex multi-fold cover that “raised the bar in New Zealand printing”.

Auckland printer GEON Auckland received not only the top prize at the award ceremony in Wellington last night, but also the plaudits for the best-of-category in Publications, and the best entry in the sheetfed-offset print process.

A repeat Supreme Finalist, GEON’s combination of an innovative cover design, and a superb-quality insert, were enough to tip the scales in favour of the Urbis publication.

Judge Damian Fleming said the magazine caught the attention of everyone who looked at it.

“There are things about this book which are really cool. The front cover folds out to make eight pages and the folds have to be exact to make it work. It is a pretty outrageuous thing to attempt and get right. The attention to detail on the cover includes a matched image where the cover finishes just short of the fore-edge. The result is seamless.

“Inside, there is a tip-in insert which has been printed to match the colour and position of the image on the page beneath. It was printed on different stock, on a different day from the magazine, yet it matches perfectly. This wasn’t some simple glossy advert, but a perforated and complete image match up.

“Then there was the binding which has been difficult in its own right, and that has succeeded.

“This has raised the bar in magazine print standards,” he said.

GEON general manager Andrew Durrans described the moment as a “huge recognition” of the expertise of his staff.

“What the judges said is the bar is getting lifted and the quality is getting better each year and I knew our guys had lifted the bar … if there was going to be a reward for effort and perseverance and continuing to put out a quality product to our clients …”, he said

“It is one of a number of magazines we print on a monthly basis, with very tight timelines. It has some inserts and crossovers involved with that overlay individual pages, so it is critical that you get the alignment right. It is a work or art from the front end pre-press.

Mr Durrans described the magazine sector as being “very competitive”.

“Our customers are demanding more from us. Particularly on front covers they are looking for special colours and the ‘eye candy’. This is a magazine that also sells over the counter so it is very important that you get the people they are targeting which is the people who are looking for high-end fashion and quality -- they need to see that in the product. The advertisers in that magazine are the higher-end brands. It is important that they are aligned to a high-end product.

Technical information:
Urbis was printed for AGM Publishing, reproduction houses were GEON and Pacific Laminations, paper stocks were Spicers Paper Media and Expression, press was a Heidelberg Speedmaster using Hostmann-Steinberg NZ inks, Agfa plates and Contitech Litho Hc blankets.

Business Print

Singapore Collection Carries Stamp of Authority

A “stunningly aesthetic” collector’s sheet of stamps made for the Singapore market is a credit to New Zealand for the very fact it could have been printed in any country in the world – but printers here won it on the basis of quality.

The Festivals Collectors’ Sheet of Stamps, printed by Southern Colour Print of Dunedin, won the Business Print category of the Pride In Print Awards after being entered in the security, cheques, stamps, plastic cards section.

Expert judges in both sheetfed printing techniques and in print finishing were awed by the result.

“All the foiling involved, in green, gold and purple, the holographic effect, and the micro perforations go to create a very high technical result. There is excellent registration throughout,” said judge Damian Fleming. “It deserves special recognition because the job stayed in New Zealand when it could have been lost to many other countries in the world.

“As expected, these stamps pass a meticulous inspection under a magnifier, and it’s the foil that really shows the craftsmanship.”

Finishing judge Chris Woodhead said that the stamps have to be passed through the foiler multiple times for the different foil colours, thus creating a chance of damage to earlier foils.

“There is the risk of undoing some of the good work you have put in. But not with these stamps — they are as clean as a whistle.”

The Singaporean stamps were printed sheetfed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD102 and a 1970 Heidelberg Platen. Four process colours were used plus, also a silver holyogram and pin perforations.

Technical information:
The Festivals Collection was printed for Singapore Post, reproduction house was Southern Colour Print, paper stocks were Litho Coated Gum Stamp Paper and Crown Foil supplied by Tullis Russell Coaters and API Foils NZ Ltd, press was a Heidelberg using Heidelberg Saphira MT Excel inks, Kodak Thermal Direct plates and Heidelberg Saphira blankets.

Packaging

Effective Design Gives Sweet Taste to Cadburys

A cleverly-designed and perfectly-created chocolate box for Cadbury’s Milk Tray has won the Pride In Print Packaging Award for Amcor Cartons of Christchurch.

Entered in the carton board packaging section, the Cadbury Milk Tray 200g box features satin and spot UV coatings, and silver foiling with embossing moulded to the contours of the chocolates.

Packaging judge Laurie Lark said the design concept was to make sure the structural design protected the product at the same time as the graphics appealed to the buyer.

“Good packaging has to be fit for purpose. It has to do the job for which it is intended.

“This box does just that and it is very well-produced. It was difficult to do. It had embellishments including embossing and die cuts, and had to go through the press six times. Plus the printers had to get the Cadbury’s purple just right which is no easy task.

“Excellent registration and very effective design have combined to create a superb piece of work.”

The Cadbury Milk Tray 200g box was printed on a Heidelberg six-colour press.

Technical information:
The Cadbury Milk Tray 200g was designed by Curious, with Colorite Group the reproduction house and Amcor Cartons Christchurch and Goldcraft Enterprises the print finishers. BJ Ball Group supplied the Crescendo 452 stock which was printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD102, using CTP film, Flint Group inks, Kodak Sword Ultra plates and Day 4000 blankets.

Labels

Waka Wins Labels Prize for Panprint

A wine label featuring a waka paddle, delicately-embellished with gold foiling, has won the Labels Category Award for Auckland company Panprint.

The Totara Sauvignon Blanc 2010 wine label was described by judge Bill Ashworth as a very fine piece of stochastic screening, in which the dot size and distribution pattern of the screen yields cleaner and more vibrant colour.

“The stock used is textured and printed in four-colour process. To that has been added embellishments such as the foiling.

“The whole thing has been done very neatly. It is a very fine and clean example of a good wine label,” he said.

Technical information:
The Totara Sauvignon Blanc 2010 label was printed for Endeavour Vineyards, Panprint was the print finisher, and Avery Dennison’s Fasson Estate 8 was the stock. The label was printed on a Gallus press with Hostmann-Steinberg NZ inks, Fuji plates and Conti blankets.

Display Print and also Digital Process

Eyelashes and Burgers Compete for Display Honours

A point-of-sale promoting beautiful eyelashes and a backlit display print making burgers look succulent have shared the Display Category honours at the Pride In Print Awards.

The Maybelline Colossal Lashes stand printed by APC Innovate of Manukau vied with the Kings Collection Translite Honey Mustard Tender Crisp display created by Admark Visual Imaging Ltd of Hamilton.

The eyelashes stand was created as a point-of-sale marketing tool. It was offset printed on fibre board with corrugated inserts and was couriered out as a made-up stand to individual shops, inclusive of an eyelash brush as part of the display.

The board had to have a 3D effect to complete the impact required.

Entered in the point-of-sale section, the stand was printed on a KBA in four colours and then other parts done in two spot colours on a Thieme 5060.

Judge Bill Ashworth said it was a very appealing design that showed no flaws in the transitions between the colours. “There is an amazing match in the purples created by spot colour and in the tricolour mix.”

Judge Chris Knuckey said it was flawless screening and the construction was robust and solid. “It went out to shops already assembled and it all comes together as a very impressive point-of-sale stand,” he said.

Waikato printers Admark Visual Imaging Ltd got their share of the Digital Category honours by making burgers more succulent at the point-of-sale.

The Kings Collection Translite Honey Mustard Tender Crisp print – which also won the Digital Process Award – impressed judges by the fact it was done on a printer well past its normal life expectancy. It was deemed an excellent job with lovely prepress work.

Admark’s print was designed for backlighting, giving the product an extra lift in the supermarket shelves and making it more appealing to buyers.

Judge Chris Knuckey paid tribute to the professionalism of the printers who produced the Kings Honey Mustard Tender Crisp display, saying it was printed on a Seiko 64S Colourprinter that at eight-years-old was past the industry norm.

Technical information:
The Maybelline Colossal Lashes stand was created for L'Oreal NZ with APC Innovate the reproduction house and print finisher. Carter Holt Harvey supplied the Pasted Formakote stock, and the stand was printed on KBA and Thieme presses using Agfa film and plates and inks from Coates and Pacific Inks.

The Kings Collection Translite Honey Mustard Tender Crisp print was created for Antares - Burger King, with Admark the print finisher, using Aarque Group Solbit Backlit Film on a Seiko 64S press and Aarque Group inks.

Promotional Print

Wedding Album Promotes Beautiful Print

A “faultless, beautiful” book of wedding photographs, that was showcased with exquisite binding, has won the Promotional Print Category at Pride In Print for Wellington’s Momento Photobooks.

Jennifer and Andrew’s Wedding album, which was originally entered in the one-off presentation work section, was printed by both Kinetic 21 and Momento. It was created by extracting the couple’s files from a website, text was imposed and the design was laid out in PhotoShop.

The cover and dust jackets were printed by inkjet and laminated. The book was hand bound and stitched and the dust jackets fitted using a specialised heat process for optimal fit. The presentation boxes were handmade.

Judges rated it a beautiful book on a nice choice of paper stock, finished in excellent colour.

Judge Chris Woodhead said that hard case covers such as that on Jennifer and Andrew’s Wedding album cannot be done by any machine within New Zealand, to the best of his knowledge, and therefore reflected craftsmanship by hand.

“These are handmade and are of excellent quality. Inside, the sheets are hand sewn too. The alignment of the pages is incredible, as is the slip case and dust jacket.

“When you consider that 200 of these were created, that represents a huge amount of painstaking work that had to be done to a consistent high level of quality.

“It takes great tradesmen to do that.”

Technical information:
The wedding album was created for Alpine Images, with Momento Photobooks NZ the print finisher, using Tintoretto and HP Semi Gloss Photopaper supplied by Spicers Paper and Fuji Graphics. The book was printed on HP Indigo and Epson 9900 presses using HP Indigo and Epson inks and HP Indigo blankets.

Specialty Products and also Screen Process

Tee Shirts a Kiwi Success Story

A New Zealand screen printer has shown that major runs of tee-shirts can be done in this country as opposed to Asia, and that superb levels of quality can still be achieved.

Seabreeze Fashions NZ Ltd of Orewa won the Specialty Products Category with its shirts depicting The Colemans – A Countdown Story, supporting the television advertising campaign which was allied to NZ Master Chef.

The tee shirts were printed in five colours on the front and three on the back and sleeve. A high degree of skills were required and the result was beautifully executed.

Judge Chris Knuckey commented: “It is unusual to see screen printed tee shirt runs of more than 4000-5000 these days. Those types of quantities generally go offshore. But this 12,500 run was produced locally, because the customer required changes and control right up to the last minute, and the printer has shown that we can achieve the very top levels of quality.

“It is fantastic to see a job of this quantity and quality retained in this country.

“Technically the job would require constant monitoring and adjustment on the fly, indicating a very high degree of skill.”

Technical information:
The Colemans – A Countdown Story was created for Progressive Enterprises, with Novelli Trading Ltd the print buyer and Ogilvy the designer. Seabreeze Fashions was the reproduction house, and Novelli Trading Ltd supplied the stock. The shirt was printed on a TAS press using inks supplied by Blueprint Imaging Ltd and CCG Industiries Ltd.

Industry Development

Moulded Labels Create New Challenges for Print

New print industry challenges may have been created by the development of a paint pail that has its label moulded into the product at the time it was produced, making it part of the plastic construction instead of being attached afterwards.

Geon Auckland’s 10lt Solagard Range bucket “spun the wheels of the judges” at Pride In Print to such an extent it won the Industry Development Category.

Initially entered in the Innovation Category, the in-mould label arose from a request by the customer to provide a new label solution. That gave rise to an 18-month programme of research and development, with the printer partnering with an end manufacturer to trial the print and a production mould.

Various substrates were trialled along with many inks, fountain solutions and coating formulas. Products had to be sourced worldwide to get the best-possible combination with the printed material.

A number of trial moulds were created and during the process it was essential to achieve colour control.

Judge Scott Porter said that in-mould labelling was an increasing area of industry development.

“This involves placing the label in the mould and then creating the product around it. They have gone to a lot of effort to source the right materials that will stand up to the extreme conditions that the label is exposed to during the moulding process.

“Their efforts have produced a product that has integrity and will last a long time showing no deterioration. It also shows a willingness to develop new streams for a technology that has previously been applied to smaller products like tubs and pottles.

“That represents a challenge to traditional printed labels that are applied by glue. Now, this is a commercial product in the marketplace. The industry is showing it can develop new challenges.”

Technical information:
The Solagard Range bucket was created for Wattyl, with Semi Automatic the print buyer. Larsen & Best and Viscount Plastics were the print finishers. The job was printed on a Heidelberg press with Agfa plates and Conti blankets.

PROCESS WINNERS

Web printing

Valley Voice Wins in Web

Rural publication Valley Voice has won the Web Process prize in the Pride In Print Awards with its strong and vibrant colours.

Entered in the magazine section, Valley Voice was printed by Horton Media Ltd of Auckland for Valley Publishing. Judges commented on the excellent colour reproduction and the tidiness of the whole job. Valley Voice was designed by Inhouse Design with Horton Media Bindery the print finisher. Spicers Paper supplied the Chen Ming 60gsm stock for use on a Goss Community press, with DIC New Zealand inks, Fuji plates and Reeves blankets.

Flexible

Vege and Chicken Wrapper Stirs Judges

Christchurch’s Aperio Flexipac Branston Street has won the Pride In Print Flexible Process prize with its Pam’s Vege and Chicken Stir Fry Wrapper.

Entered in the flexible packaging section, the wrapper won plaudits for its great use of process colours with reds and greens to enhance the vibrancy of the multi-colour process. Other judges’ comments included “well hidden plate join”, “good print job nice densities” and “great black ink lay down”.

Printed on a W&H Novoflex press, in eight colours, the wrapper was printed for Foodstuffs, with Aria Farms the print buyer. Colorite was the reproduction house, and Coated Polyester Unitika and Coex PE Aperio Flexipac CRD stocks were used on a Novoflex press with inks by DIC New Zealand and plates by Digital ACE.

Finishing

CD Holder Gets Finishing Prize

A CD holder that judges thought encapsuled “very clever pre-press with beautiful printing” has taken the Finishing Process prize for Auckland’s Sentra Print.

The Julia Grace CD Holder was entered in the specialty finishing products section and came through with the judges’ comment “A wonderful product with many finishing elements and very well executed.”

Printed for Parachute Music, with SMP Solutions the print buyer, the CD holder was designed by Danny Carlsen. The Worx was the reproduction house, and Doherty Print Finishers and Coast Services the finishers. BJ Ball Group supplied the stocks of Cover Novatech 350gsm and Novatech 170gsm for use on a Komori L628 press, with DIC New Zealand inks, Fuji plates and Conti blankets.

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