Carlson Print Group wins eight Star Awards in Print Industry Midwest’s annual competition

“Heartbreak Weather” DVD Packaging wins Best of Category

​Carlson Print Group will be awarded eight honors for excellent and innovative print projects at the Print Industry Midwest 2021 Star Awards Banquet on June 17 in downtown Minneapolis.
 
CD Packaging for “Heartbreak Weather,” the second studio album by Irish singer Niall Horan, garnered Best of Category in T-2 Media Packaging. This award signals a level of craftsmanship unsurpassed by any other entry in the category. 

​This exciting project included a 20-page booklet. The majority of the pages were printed four-color process (4CP) with an aqueous coating on 80# gloss text. We created a unique and highly customized design by intermingling clear plastic printed with white and PMS inks and UV gloss. The printing on the clear material interacted with the adjoining pages, indicating the gamut of weather phenomena: sunshine, clouds, raindrops, and lightning. The “Heartbreak Weather” project also included a soft-pack CD carrier. The soft pack was printed four-color with an aqueous coating and includes photographs of the artist along with song titles on the back panel.

​Carlson Print Group’s own “Corporate Presentation Folder” received an Award of Recognition in A‐2 Presentation Folders/Portfolios (4 or more colors). An Award of Recognition is the runner-up in its category.
 
Carlson’s 9 x 12 two-pocket folder was designed to hold collateral materials and showcase Carlson’s capabilities and creativity with a plastic substrate. This material was printed using Carlson’s Colour Foil, two opaque whites, 4CP and a spot gloss coating. The inside of the material was printed with two opaque whites, 4CP + a spot gloss coating. The front panel of the folder transitions from a solid color at the top to clear at the bottom. This riveting effect allows the collateral materials inside to show through the front cover. 

“Insurance POP Tabletop ‐ 2 Parts” also received an Award of Recognition in I‐2 Point‐of‐Purchase Materials, Small. Working with a national insurance company’s design agency, we wanted to create a tabletop display to grab consumer’s attention in selected retail outlets for insurance on in-home electronics.
 
The tabletop displays came in two parts, and were printed using lenticular lens material and printed 4CP with two whites. The lenticular printing process utilizes a combination of specially prepared graphics and lenticular lens to create printed images that have the illusion of depth or motion. The lenticular art was a side-to-side two-image flip, indicating a transition from damaged electronics to restored electronics, and from one tagline to another tagline with a logo. 
 
Carlson Print Group took five Certificates of Merit, which signify a high level of quality printing. Awards include: “Cyber Frog Comic Book” in D-7 Novelty Books; “2020 Las Vegas Raiders Christmas Card” and “2020 Corporate Christmas Card” in K-1 Cards; “ORI Video Game Packaging” in T-2 Media Packaging; and “Specialty Print Packaging Kit” in W-5 Media Kits.
 
Printing Industry Midwest (PIM) is the trade association representing nearly 300 print service companies in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. PIM’s annual Star Awards honors every aspect of the graphic communications supply chain, from content creation to print distribution.
 
A specialty premium print shop in the heart of the Midwest, Carlson Print Group, brings 20-plus years of experience serving valued clients and a commitment to excellence in high-end printing techniques that raise the bar in design and execution. CPG is an award-winning printer with multiple certifications that support consistency in color, best practices and environmental stewardship.
 
Offering so much more than ink on paper, Carlson Print Group’s uses truly innovative techniques - taking a little bit of risk with color and texture to reap a huge reward in user experience. The print literally jumps off the page -- or box, envelope, package -- demanding attention and encouraging interaction. 
 
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