2005 PLGA Global Print Quality Awards

PSA Labels

WINNER CATEGORY: Prime Label-Film COMPANY: Package Service Company ENTRY: Suavitel Fresca Primavera JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Seven colors plus UV printed on 2.6 mil white BOPP. The judges commented that this example was at least two orders of magnitude better than flexo. The skin tones are absolutely outstanding, the type clean and crisp. As good as a pressure sensitive label can get.

WINNER CATEGORY: No Label Look COMPANY: Spear ENTRY: Smirnoff Ice Ultra JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Seven colors printed on 1.2 mil BOPP with a .7-mil overlaminate. This job was converted from screen-printing with hot foil stamping to gravure printing for process advantages. The red, black and silver give a nice contrast, luxury feel to the label. The small type is well produced and the solid colors are good which results in a good label.

WINNER CATEGORY: Special Effects COMPANY: SleeveCo, Inc. ENTRY: Advantage Max 4 JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Five colors + varnish printed on PVC Film. The actual application is unique in that it is applied to a gun barrel to make it camouflaged. This entry proved to be an interesting sample and the judges commented that if this were an actual gun barrel you could easily loose it in the foliage in the woods. The halftones are good and the solid black shadows realistic. The foliage looks realistic and the highlights are clean.

WINNER CATEGORY: Prime Label with Lamination COMPANY: SleeveCo, Inc. ENTRY: Smirnoff Twisted Raspberry JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Five colors printed on 2 mil BOPP overlaminated with .5-mil film. This job was converted from screen-printing to gravure with laminate to improve silver aesthetics and reduce the cost to produce. This label represents the new trend in producing distinctive clear look labels. The deep red background behind the white Smirnoff logo is clean and crisp. The fine black type is excellent with no fill in. Overall a nice presentation.

Specialty

WINNER CATEGORY: Stamps COMPANY: Avery Dennison Security Printing Div. ENTRY: Art of the American Indian JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Seven colors plus water based phosphor coating printed on non-phosphor stamp paper. This finished product reflects the quality that can be achieved by the gravure printing process. The challenges presented to the printer in dealing with his customer (United States Postal service) art director, cylinder engraver and ink supplier were unique, but successfully negotiated. The judges commented that for this category, we step up a couple of notches in the quality scale. They are considered a very well produced set of stamps with excellent illustrations, outstanding register and extremely sharp type.

WINNER CATEGORY: Security Printing COMPANY: Scientific Games International ENTRY: Top Prize 250,000 JUDGE'S COMMENTS: This 14-color job is a dual winner and is the same that won in category 41. A prime example of security printing at its best.

WINNER CATEGORY: Special Effects/Novelty COMPANY: SleeveCo, Inc. ENTRY: Havana Cappuccino JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Eight colors printed on PVC film. The sleeve is printed with a nice combination of browns and gold. The vignette in gold is well done and the “eyes appear to follow you”. The print is well defined, clean and crisp.

WINNER CATEGORY: Technical Achievement COMPANY: Avery Dennison Security Printing Div. ENTRY: Pacific Coral Reef JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Eight colors plus water based phosphor coating printed on non-phosphor stamp paper. The printer was successful in convincing the USPS that gravure was a better process. The prior five stamp issues were printed by the offset printing process, but after their presentation won the contract. A minimum 300-line screen combined with a maximum .006” registration tolerance specification was exceeded by the printer. The judges commented that the stamps were very well produced and set the standard for future work. The stamps have excellent illustrations, outstanding register and extremely sharp type. An outstanding example of fine gravure process work.

WINNER CATEGORY: Use of Non-Solvent Ink COMPANY: Inland Label and Marketing Services LLC ENTRY: Crazy Stallion 40 oz. Body JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Six colors + aqueous topcoat printed on metallized paper. This label has an outstanding textured appearance on a two dimensional surface. The bold print is clean and clear. The fine black type is very sharp. An outstanding label printed with water based inks.

WINNER CATEGORY: Specialty Converting COMPANY: American Packaging Corp ENTRY: USPS Holiday Ornaments JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Nine colors printed on two-sided PSA stock. The stamp was printed on both sides of the sheet in a single pass through the press. The judges commented that this was a nicely produced set of stamps with tight register, nice overall halftones and clean, sharp type. The front to back register is critical for die cutting purposes and the individual register on each side was equally outstanding.

Product

WINNER CATEGORY: Flooring COMPANY: Armstrong World ENTRY: Mesita JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Five colors printed on 70 mil felt with top and bottom gel protective layers. This job reflects a high-resolution print on a rough substrate. The halftones are well produced with good tight register and trapping. The opaque element provides realism, simulating calcium on brick. A well-produced sample with good ink coverage.

WINNER CATEGORY: Gift Wrap COMPANY: Plus Mark, Inc. ENTRY: Harry Potter JUDGE'S COMMENTS: Four-colors water based inks printed on 40# C2S paper. The judges commented that this was a busy sample reflecting the mysterious tones of Harry Potter genre. The selection of colors is good and an outstanding result for water based gravure. The tonal range that created the soft facial tones is commendable.

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