Production of a Waikato Draught advert on a 20mm-deep corrugated zinc aluminium flute points to a high level of expertise within the New Zealand printing industry.
Printed by Onehunga-based Original Screen for the Publicis Mojo advertising agency, the promotion features a cow looking up at an oversized hay bale alongside the caption: for a hard case thirst. By using the corrugatediron, the advert aims to reinforce the farm scene image and Waikato heritage with potential consumers.
Greg Nash, director of Original Screen says, "We are delivering on our vision, requiring both skill and technology. About 18 months ago we became the first and only printer in the country to install an Inca Columbia turbo flatbed UV printer. The print heads work on voltage, firing ink particles onto the substrate at high resolution. We hadn't done a lot on corrugated iron before and one of the challenges was the ink adhesion factor. Rather than laying down clear adhesion promoters to get the ink to key, we tested and then used our high-end Sericol ink, from the United Kingdom and printed directly onto it. That enabled us to take a raw piece of stock off the shelf, put it through the machine and print it with same-day turn around."
According to Nash, the result was well received. He says, "The client thought it was fantastic. Generally on a product like that, where you have a corrugated surface over 20mm deep, the print heads deliver a very high resolution at the top points but then tend to spray out a little bit in the valleys. But this job came out particularly well."
Original Screen's work has previously been recognised by the Pride in Print awards. Nash is proud of the company's achievements and boasts, "We're big on quality and innovation. That has always been part and parcel of how we've run the business. We've won about 13 gold, 17 highly commended, and we were the first screen printer to win the supreme award.
He is also enthusiastic about the awards
process, saying, "It really backs up our product and clients take great comfort
from that. From a personal point of view it is great to be up there winning
gold and from a company perspective the guys who have printed the jobs take a
lot out of that and it goes on their resumes as well. All round, Pride in Print
has
had a great effect on the company."
The Waikato Draught promotional item is entered in the digital printing 'other' category in this year's Pride in Print Awards, being presented at Auckland's SkyCity convention centre on May 16.
