Diamond Packaging Earns Four Awards In 2007 National Paperboard Packaging Competition

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Diamond Packaging of Rochester, N.Y. earned four awards in the 64th Annual National Paperboard Packaging Competition, the industry’s premier showcase for all that is new and outstanding in paperboard packaging design and technology. Awards were announced at the Annual Spring Meeting & Strategies Conference, held March 6-8, 2007 in Nashville, Tenn.

The competition, which is sponsored by the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC), provides members with an opportunity to display their most impressive packaging designs and productions, and promote winning packages to customers. Entries are judged in 26 different categories against three criteria: folding carton impact, manufacturing and distribution impact, and retail consumer impact. Entries are also considered for technical achievement and innovation, craftsmanship and overall appearance.

Competing against hundreds of entries from around the country, Diamond Packaging received recognition by winning one Gold Award and three Excellence Awards.

Diamond won the first-ever Gold Award in Combination Materials, a new category that recognizes the trend towards combining paperboard with alternative materials such as plastic. Diamond’s new Diamondessence combination packaging incorporates a wide variety of styles and materials that truly set products apart from their competition by revealing the beauty of what’s inside.

The wrap-around window structure combines package integrity with maximum product visibility by showcasing a diamond as if it floats in mid-air. To achieve even greater shelf impact, techniques such as hot foil stamping, embossing, and specialty coating were also employed.

Diamond won an Excellence Award in the Personal Care category for the Redken for Men Bulk Up Thickening Spray counter display. The geometrically-inspired design combines a trapezoid shape with straight lines to convey a sense of dynamic energy. The inverted weight of the main panel contributes by visually communicating the sense of “bulking up.”

The fifth-panel structure integrates with the base on which the spray bottle is displayed, encouraging consumers to touch and hold the product. The stunning graphics, which were achieved by offset printing four-color process inks and one special color ink in-line with UV matte varnish, perfectly complements the color of the spray bottle.

Diamond also employed frequency modulated (FM) screening to deliver near photographic fidelity from an offset printing process. FM screening is unique in that it varies the number of dots used, as opposed to amplitude modulated (AM) screening, which varies the size of the dot. The 20-micron FM dot eliminates all issues related to screen angles, resulting in smoother vignettes and softer color-to-color transitions not possible with traditional four-color process printing.

Other winning highlights include a Halloween collection enhanced with specialty coating techniques for Godiva Chocolatier, and a 1950’s retro themed self-promotional calendar.