Excellence Awards: Time to Party

Congratulations are in order for all the companies that participated in this year's packagePRINTING Excellence Awards competition. It was obvious right from the start that the package-printing industry put its best foot forward. The judges—Peter Menzian, DuPont; Joe Hamway, Mark Andy; and Bob Waddington, Superior Ink—were only half way through the label categories when it was obvious that "there are lot's of very high-quality entries this year," noted Waddington.

With 28 first-place winners vying for Best of Show honors, the judges worked hard just to get it down to a handful of finalists. Labels were well represented as Hamway noted, "Some of the labels were just beautiful, breathtaking, and it was hard to pick the other package."

In the end, the "other package" was Hub Folding Box Company's iBAR 2010 Holiday "Instant Bar" package. Its selection for Best of Show honors marks two years in a row for Hub Folding Box Company—an impressive feat.

According to Menzian, "It had a degree of difficulty the others didn't have, and the way they dropped the blue was fantastic. The registration was near perfect."

This second consecutive award for the Mansfield, Mass.-based company helps demonstrate why the company is widely recognized for its creativity and innovation. According to Jack DiRico, a third-generation family owner, Hub Folding Box Company does its best to get involved from the beginning of the creative process to ensure that it can assist its customers in developing the best package for their market strategies.

For this package, Corby Distilleries, Pigeon Branding and Design, and Hub Folding Box Company collaborated on the design right from the start. Corby Distilleries established the need for a package that is geared towards the highly technical and younger (but legal-age) consumer. The package becomes an "instant" bar—or highly technical iBAR—when the consumer removes the bottles from inside.

The Hub Folding Box Company design team selected materials and a package structure that would enhance the value for the targeted consumer and be consistent with market trends. The use of a book-style carton allows more room for graphics and reusable drink recipes, while the entire package is produced using 100 percent recyclable materials.

Corby Distilleries wanted to incorporate the 2D interactive bar code to provide the ability for a smart-phone user to communicate with the brand. The overall graphics were selected to provide a simple appearance with bright colors that convey a party-like atmosphere. Additionally, the drink recipes and QR codes on the package provide additional information that can add to a fun experience during the holiday season.

The collaboration paid off for Hub Folding Box when it came time to produce the iBAR box. The award-winning package was created in one pass on a custom-configured KBA press, with seven colors and UV matte and UV gloss coatings.

"The overall use of modern graphics with a 'techy' driven style, along with the use an overall matte coating and spot gloss to highlight the drinks and images on the package really help to make this package stand out at retail," says DiRico.

For DiRico and all those involved in the collaborative effort, this award gives them a good reason to celebrate before the next holiday season. pP