Best Of Show
The University of Delaware won its first Best of Show award with a colorful calendar featuring stunning scenes from all over campus.
By Bob Neubauer
When Rodney Brown volunteered to be a judge for the In-Print contest back in 2002 he thought he would simply be using his years of printing expertise as manager of Graphic Communication at the University of Delaware to help pick winners.
He never dreamed the experience would teach him so much about printing. What he learned then has changed the way he looks at printing in his 24-employee in-plant.
"Every piece that comes in any more, we start looking at it as if it could be something we could put in as an entry," says Brown. Press and bindery operators now look more closely at the jobs they're handling, watching for hickeys and bad folds, and trying to find the perfect samples to enter in the contest.
Winning Strategy
This year that strategy paid off big time. Out of 44 first place winners in In-Print 2004, the University of Delaware's engagement calendar was chosen as the Best of Show winner.
As an ex-contest judge, who has seen for himself the excellent quality of the In-Print entries, Brown says this honor made him feel "extremely good, knowing what the competition is out there."
The University of Delaware also has the honor of winning the most first place awards in this year's contest: Five.
Stunning Calendar
The in-plant's winning calendar is truly a beautiful piece to behold. A weekly planner, it features more than 100 stunning color photos showing off the flowers, foliage, buildings and statues around the university's Newark, Del., campus. All 114 photos are in perfect register, offering a vibrant and enticing glimpse of the campus in each of the four seasons.
The calendar is Wire-O bound with a front and back cover, and 110 (7-1⁄2x9-1⁄2˝) pages, plus six 4-7⁄8x9-1⁄2˝ pages bound throughout the book promoting upcoming events.
Brown says the calendar was printed for the public relations department to be presented to some of the largest donors to the university. Copies are also on sale in the book store.
The calendar was designed by Barbara Broge in the university's Creative Services Group. Brown is honored that Creative Services repeatedly uses his in-plant to print its high-quality projects.
"They're extremely happy with the quality that we do," he remarks.
Direct To Plate
Once the in-plant received the digital file, prepress operator Crystal Cox used the in-plant's Fuji Dart Luxel T6000 platesetter with a Rampage RIP to output plates. These were loaded onto the five-color, 20x28˝ Komori press by operators Paul Fahringer and Vernon Foraker. They printed each page with a wax-free varnish so ink from the photos wouldn't transfer to adjoining pages when writing in the calendar. Wire-O binding was handled by an outside vendor. All told, it took the in-plant a week to produce 3,700 calendars.
Brown says the in-plant's awards from previous In-Print contests are currently hanging on a wall where customers can see them. But with the six awards it won this year, plus the Best of Show trophy, he is now thinking of investing in a display cabinet to properly show off the shop's winnings. Seeing these awards has had a positive effect on customers, he notes.
"It reassures them," he says. "They're not afraid to give us the job." And after taking a look at the in-plant's new Best of Show award, those customers should be more eager than ever to drop off their jobs.
- People:
- Bob Neubauer
- Rodney Brown