Page 60 - Print 21 Magazine May-June 2019

Printlink takes Supreme Award at Pride in Print
Printlink – part of Blue Star
– won the Supreme Award at the 2019 Pride in Print event for its Oranga Tamariki Panels, entered in the Speciality Products category.
The annual Pride in Print Awards is the biggest night in the Kiwi printing calendar, showcasing
the best of the best of its print, and this year surpassed
expectations. The Pride In Print awards programme is seen as the annual benchmarking event for the New Zealand printing, packaging, signage and graphic arts industries, and attracts a huge number of entries each year.
Printlink took out the Supreme Award this year, for a remarkable piece of print that the judges said was a “great concept”. It was entered in the Speciality Products category.
The three Oranga Tamariki panels produced by Printlink were printed on plywood on a Screen WS3200 UV flatbed, and gave
the appearance of actual Maori carvings, with a 3D effect that had reportedly had the judges having to feel for themselves that it was not. The prints came from a photo taken of the original carvings, which
had been produced by inmates at Hastings jail, carvings which now hang in the Beehive.
The judges’ comment was, “What a great concept and innovative use of this process. A very effective three dimensional look has been achieved using a clever technique. A stand out in the Special Products area.”
60 Print21 MAY/JUNE 2019
Above left
Printlink general manager, Katharine Williams with the coveted Pride In Print Supreme Award
The Oranga Tamariki ‘carved’ panels
Of the winning entry which beat some stiff competition, Pride In Print judges said: “This is Kiwi as. It’s just like a sheet of plywood that you’d purchase at your local timber shop, but it’s been turned into a beautiful thing.
“The pieces should now be in a gallery somewhere with a big price tag on them, but they were simply three pieces of plywood. This is
an excellent use of flatbed (press) capability, an outstanding effort to get it right, and great execution of the original brief.”
Even close up, many judges had
to pass their hands over the images to satisfy themselves that they weren’t actual carvings – but a print so good it gave that illusion of a carved surface. They said an amazing amount of energy and skill had
gone into making the panels what they were– a piece of art showing
a beautiful carved image on a flat printed surface.
Pride In Print judge Grant Blockley said the entry was a good example of the print industry finding something new to do with a printing machine. “They’re doing some unique things using the machines they have. It’s cool.”
Printlink general manager Katharine Williams said the team was just thrilled with the recognition for
a job they knew had been special in the first place. “It was a special and important piece for the Ministry of Social Development too, and I think they will also be absolutely thrilled by this award. We have a sample of this hanging on our wall and customers just can’t believe it is a print, not an actual carving. They have to touch it to see for themselves.”
She said the company had always been a bit pigeonholed in terms of the type of work it had done, but it had evolved into an innovative business
in the past few years. She saw this award as a recognition of that, saying, “There has been a significant change in Printlink, from one of New Zealand’s largest offset printers into a communications business.”
Printlink’s John Harrison said
it was initially suggested they present the carvings as a print on canvas. However, because of the quality and meaning of the original carvings, they felt they should create something which would do the theme more justice and better replicate the 3D nature of the originals. 21
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