On the Pulse of Excellence

Best of Show

When Rohrer Corp. received its instructions for producing a folding carton for IcyHot Smart Relief TENS Therapy Back Refill Pads, one requirement stood out in particular. The packaging had to be distinctly different from the product’s competition that had already gone to market.

While there are many eye-catching elements to this folding carton, Scott Slater, Rohrer’s director of printing, explains that the carton’s bold colors were printed with UV inks and a high-gloss finish. That combination, he explains, really makes this carton shine in a retail setting.

“When it’s in the store under the in-store lighting, it really reflects the variation of color that we have in there, as well as the quality of print that we produce,” Slater says. “It’s very unique as it goes from darks to lights and has some very vibrant colors that jump out.”

The print quality on this carton also impressed the judges in the 29th annual packagePRINTING Excellence Awards, as they selected it from approximately 130 total entries as the competition’s Best of Show winner.

“Stunning graphics, rich colors and perfectly executed printing made this the best of show winner,” praised John Hennessy, product manager for EFI Jetrion and one of the event’s judges.

While the bold colors and foiling impressed the judges, the carton’s graphics and structural design were both intentionally developed to emulate the electronic pulsing produced by the pad.

Nancy Limback worked on the package as manager of package development and innovation for Sanofi, the parent company of Chattem, which owns the IcyHot brand. She is now consulting through Packaging Strategies & Solutions. Limback explains that the “pulsing” graphics on the carton and the curved shape of the carton were intended to reflect that theme.

“The curve of the clamshell and the curves that nest in with the refill carton reflect this pulse,” Limback explains. “Everything was designed to fit together and the colors tie in with the IcyHot brand — the blues with the icy and the warm tones with the hot.”

In addition to Best of Show, the carton won first place in the Folding Cartons: Offset category.

Rohrer Corp. is based in Wadsworth, Ohio, but printed the carton at its facility in the Atlanta suburb of Buford, Georgia. Slater explains that inside that building, the company houses its Komori LSX840RP offset press.

Slater says that while Rohrer did not take part in any out of the ordinary procedures to produce the IcyHot carton, he explains that the company’s dedication to consistent, high-quality print led to this carton shining as an example of what Rohrer Corp. is capable of producing.

One of the printing elements that impressed the judges was the screening in the carton, particularly in the way it transitioned to zero dots.

“This is an amazing example of package printing done correctly,” said Bill Enright, an Excellence Awards judge and application engineer for Mark Andy Print Products. “It has perfect registration, screening that smoothly transitions to zero dots, and vivid colors. Everything was just done right.”

Rob van Gilse, Rohrer’s vice president of sales and marketing, says the company was pleased to hear the results of the judging and that one of its entries was considered the competition’s best. For Rohrer Corp., he explains, producing high-quality packaging is a matter of pride and determination to provide its customers with the best final product.

“We’re very excited to receive this type of recognition in the marketplace,” van Gilse says. “We do pride ourselves on being an excellent packaging printer and providing unique innovative looking packaging while staying current to technologies that are available in the marketplace to both enhance what we can bring to market for our customers on shelf.”

-Cory Francer

Second Place Overall

When the team at Coating Excellence International found out that its polywoven film dog food bag created for Pedigree had placed second in Best of Show in 2015’s Excellence Awards and first in the Flexible Packaging: Flexo (Process) category, it was a pleasant surprise.

“We know this is a really nice printed product; every time we run it we admire it ourselves,” admits Caryn Kuehl, prepress workflow supervisor at Coating Excellence International. “So it feels good to have recognition from someone else.”

The particularly satisfying aspect of this win is that all of the graphics are done in-house with plates made on an Esko HD imager.

“We’re using our HD flexo technology that we installed last year, so we’re very proud of that,” Kuehl says. “We’ve optimized all of our settings to deliver sharp graphics.”

Part of what makes the bag so impressive is its size, which also posed as one of the challenges in creating the piece. Melissa Warnecke, graphics department manager, explains that the large web-width of the piece is a challenge, as well as carrying clean vignettes onto the large, solid background, especially when the dog on the bag is almost life-size.

“The detail is very critical in every element of this design; the dog, the fur and the details in the food are challenging elements that really require a high-end degree of prepress and platemaking,” says Warnecke.

The detail was so clear in fact, that the judges agreed that the image of the dog food was impressively realistic.

“[It’s an] outstanding example of [flexible package] printing,” admitted John Maurer, product support specialist for Kodak and an Excellence Awards judge. “The dog food on the package looks so good, I am afraid that my dog would eat the bag!”

It’s not only the design elements of the piece that necessitate the high quality that Coating Excellence can provide but the consistency needed in the repetition of a large print web like this one.

“Any printer knows, the larger the repeat, the harder the register,” Bob Fiala, printing process engineer, affirms. “Every little issue is magnified over the longer repeat. Longer repeats create a challenge to keep the dot-for-dot register that this one requires.”

The Pedigree bag was printed using water-based inks, which not only promote sustainability in the organization, but they are a good alternative to solvent inks in food packaging. The graphics were reverse printed on a medium weight polypropylene, which was then laminated to a polywoven film and converted in-house.

-Ashley Roberts

Third Place Overall

Combining elements of stunning offset process printing and eye-catching gold foiling, the label for Hellyers Road Distillery’s The Gorge Whisky impressed this year’s judges on its way to third place in the best of show voting.

The label, produced by Collotype Labels Australia on a Gallus TCS 250 press, also earned first place in the Labels: Offset (Process) category.

The judges were particularly impressed with Collotype’s ability to incorporate so many challenging elements into a label. From the colors to registration to finishing elements, the judges all agreed this label was not short on strengths.

• Bill Enright, Application Engineer, Mark Andy: “Exceptional printing, registration and creative use of varnish and foil enhance the effects on this label.”
• John Hennessy, Product Manager, EFI: “They created an interesting blend of muted colors, textures and sheens, including spot gloss varnish re-registered to small graphic features and gold foil highlights.”
• John Maurer, Senior Print Application Specialist, Kodak: “An outstanding label with incredible detail and texture that is sure to catch the buyer’s eye.”
• Kenny Tucker, Technologies Specialist, Anderson & Vreeland: “I’ve never seen a rosette pattern so small. Great registration and great design.”
• Katie Tuckwiller, Research Investigator, DuPont: “The label exemplified offset with its tight register and well-formed dots.”

Click here to view the full list of winning entries.