Getting Better All the Time
The 2006 TLMI Awards Competition is in the books with another successful year. The number of companies and entries increased in 2006, with 51 companies (44 North American and 7 international) submitting 278 entries, 239 of which were North American.
A total of 90 awards were presented, including 48 first place honors, and Innovator and Best of Show awards. Steve Lee, vice president of RotoMetrics and chair of the Awards Competition Committee, cited the overall quality of the entries in this year’s competition. “It always seems to get better year to year,” he said.
Judge Patrick Hague, vice president of sales for Water Ink Technologies, noted the superior overall quality. “There were many impressive labels in all categories.”
One of the trends that continues in the labeling industry is the improving quality of flexographic printing. “Flexo is definitely rivaling offset,” said Peter Mulheran, head of PPL - NAFTA for Siegwerk Ink Packaging. “There were some really beautiful entries, especially in wine and spirits.”
Other trends noted by this year’s judges included an increased number of digital entries, along with increasing complexity of the printing and converting work.
Best of the best
G-3 Enterprises of Modesto, Calif. took home the 2006 Best of Show award with its entry titled, “Bridlewood - Blue Roan Syrah.” This label took the first-place award in the Wine and Spirits - Flexographic/Letterpress, Line and Screen/Tone - Prime category before beating out stiff competition for the top honor.
The label was printed on uncoated stock, which presented a difficult challenge. It required a fairly heavy laydown of black without closing in the fine type.
The challenge was obviously met head-on by G-3 Enterprises. According to Lee, “The label was very well printed, with excellent hot-stamp registration to the printed job. The image of the horse was very well done. This label had the best quality of the three or four finalists. In the end, it came down to very subtle differences.”
The close competition for top honors was also noted by Hague. “Selecting the Best of Show was a real challenge due to the overall high quality of the finalists. In the end, it won because of its complexity.”
That’s not all, folks
Among the North American award winners, Multi-Color Corp. was the top winner, taking home a total of nine awards—six first-place honors and three second-place awards. TAPP Technologies followed with seven total awards including two first-place awards, three seconds, and two honorable mentions. In addition the the Best of Show award, G-3 Enterprises also won four additional trophies—three first places and one second-place award. Dow Industries also took home five awards including three first-place awards and two seconds.
In the International category, Collotype Labels Pty. Ltd. went home with the most hardware. Its eight awards included six first-place honors and two second-place finishes. Other multiple winners were KimBells pack with four awards and Labelgraphics (Glasgow) Ltd. with three.
The Innovator Award went to Smyth Companies for its “Coors Cold Wrap Label.” This label required a unique outlast material coating on both sides of the label, in addition to the need for a tactile feel and frosty look on the front side. pP
