Top Design Contest
New Tickets to Paradise
The coupons Aloha Airlines designed for its promotional campaign are purchased in bulk by travel agents and resold at special discounted rates in groups of five to end-users. Contained in unit sets, the coupons require intricate numbering and security features to protect against duplication and theft.
To address these production challenges, Aloha consulted Kerry Lam of Honolulu-based Monarch Business Forms to refine the security features of the original design and get it to the printing press.
Lam, in turn, contacted Skokie, Illinois-based GBF Graphics. Having partnered with GBF in the past, Lam was aware of the manufacturer's special numbering capabilities.
To prevent counterfeiting, GBF produced electronically-programmed MOD 7 numbering, making check digit verification possible. Additionally, color copy security features cause the word "void" to appear on unauthorized copies.
"There were numerous phone calls and faxes to communicate Aloha's precise application needs. Then we mailed samples back and forth to test and verify the accuracy of the numbering," explained Lam.
Updates were made to the original design to freshen the look. The four-color process work was enhanced and a higher grade of paper stock was used.
According to Lam, "The unit set design is well-suited to this application, keeping the coupons and important consumer information together in an individual, self-contained piece. It also aids the administrative processing of the document, allowing Aloha to use one form instead of four or five."
He added that when the form is folded in half, the design is such that it acts as a presentation jacket.
The piece, a 91&Mac218;3x71&Mac218;8&Mac253; six-part unit set, is composed of three carbonless top plys which act as receipts and contain an identical verifying digit. These are followed by the coupons on three plys with pattern carbon, each with a unique verifying digit to ensure authenticity.
Manufacturer: GBF Graphics, Skokie, Ill.
Press: Goebel.
Paper: Appleton, International and Fryetech.
Ink: Alden & Ott.
Premier Answers the Call of the Wild
Jess Robinson of Bellingham, Washington-based Premier Graphics was impressed by the "wow-factor" of the domed-decal samples he received from his contact at HyDome Manufacturing in Windsor, Calif.
So, when Bellingham-based Grizzly Industrial was looking for a distinctive way to label its equipment for retail sales, Robinson suggested applying the doming process to the company's finely-detailed, four-color logo. Grizzly's Dawn Vander Stoep helped coordinate the project.
"Grizzly sells woodworking equipmentincluding lathes, table saws and band saws," explained Robinson. "This eye-catching labeling creates an appropriate image in establishing brand recognition."
HyDome owner, Jack Hyde, provided guidance early on in the project, helping Robinson avoid production problems. "The key to doming is having a stay-flat liner that works with a plastic labelanything with poly' in it will do," explained Hyde. "If you use a paper label, the liquid resin used in the doming process can be absorbed by the paper causing color distortion."
Hyde had successfully collaborated with Safford, Arizona-based Impressive Labels on other doming projects. He recommended the company to Robinson so the label would be properly manufactured for the project.
Combining Grizzly's distinctive four-color logo, foil and the doming process created a label that really pops out at the viewer.
"The adhesive is very aggressive," said Robinson, "making the label an integral part of the customer's product once it's applied."
The oval-shaped piece measures 1x31&Mac218;2&Mac253; and features four-color process and foil on polyester white gloss with a clear polyurethane dome.
Manufacturer: (Label) Impressive Labels, Safford, Ariz., (Doming) HyDome, Windsor, Calif.
Press: Shiki 330 and Color Dec 5000.
Paper: Flexcon.
Driven to Deliver Excellence
Some of the printed products used in NASCAR's membership services program were not exactly user-friendly, explained Dan Garrett of Eastern Business Forms, Palmetto, Fla.
"Members were complaining that the integrated, double-sided self-laminating membership card was difficult to seal and fold," said Garrett. "The laminate was prone to tearing and wrinkling and the card didn't fold properly for insertion into wallet-sized compartments."
In addition, both the membership card and the accompanying integrated NASCAR decals needed to be more weather-resistant. The membership card was ruined if it became wet and the decal wouldn't adhere when applied to many surfaces.
"The forms NASCAR purchased in 1999 were regularly jamming in the printer during production," Garrett added, "so my job was to solve NASCAR's user satisfaction and processing problems while giving their mailer a fresh, new, quality look."
Widening the form slightly and moving the die cut window away from the critical path of the printer head corrected the processing problems. According to Garrett, "I researched the printer's specs very carefully before designing the paper and plastic card weight for the project. A few thousandths of an inch thicker and the product would have been unprintable."
User satisfaction was addressed by designing a double-sized, higher-quality plastic card with a fold score. The card is more durable and fits easily into wallets.
"I addressed NASCAR's label problems by designing a double-integrated inside window decal with UV protective inks and adhesives," said Garrett. User instructions have also been clarified for properly removing the card and decals.
The mailer envelope is 12x51&Mac218;2&Mac253; 24# white laser-compatible with one die cut window, one extra vertical perf and thumb-note marginal perfs. The mounted membership card is a double-sided 9 mil. plastic card.
Manufacturer: Transkrit®, Roanoke, Va.
Press: Ashton P81.
Software used: Adobe PageMaker.
Paper: Georgia Pacific.
Ink: Wikoff.
Signed, Sealed And Certified
The customer needed a laser cut sheet, certified mail label and return receipt card with additional mailing labels that did not require printing on both sides. In Little Rock, United Systems of Arkansas' Glenn Petkovsek devised a solution.
The result was an 81&Mac218;2x7&Mac253; form, manufactured using a specially formulated laser- and inkjet-compatible crack-and-peel pressure-sensitive label stock.
"It is a one-up design that can be loaded into the paper tray of almost any laser or inkjet printer for printing low quantities, or fed from the manual feed tray for single pieces," explained Petkovsek.
"The design allows for an individual customer receipt as well as a return receipt card, a certified label, three auxiliary labels and a sticker for record keepingall on a single form," he continued.
The auxiliary labels can be used for additional shipping or receipt purposes. The certified label separates from the form to be used with or without the return receipt card.
Unique die patterns enable the end-user to simply print all of the variable data in one pass and then flip the return address label over to the back of the return card.
Three vertical and two horizontal perfs, as well as four vertical slits on the face of the form, enable the auxiliary labels, the PS 3811 return card and the PS 3800 certified label to be easily separated and removed.
Printed five-up and two-down, the address label for the return card folds at the top and adheres to the back of the return card.
Manufacturer: Daniel Label Printing, North Little Rock, Ark.
Press: Mark Andy 4150.
Paper: Avery Fasson.
Ink: Water Ink.