By DPS Staff
This Winter, DPS magazine held its second annual Innovation of the Year Awards. Winners were showcased in our March issue. This week, we dive a little deeper into the awards’ top performer, Digital Color Concepts (DCC)/OTTO NY.
Established in 1987, DCC is a 120-employee operation. The company has one location in New York, NY, where it offers retouching, photography, and prepress services, and two buildings in NJ where it performs offset and digital printing, large and grand format printing, and bindery and fulfillment.
With more than 30 years in the NY metro area, DCC has established itself in the commercial world of advertising, offering expertise in color management it says sets them apart from the competition.
The company also works closely with OTTO NY, which Christine Grant, VP of business development/marketing, DCC, describes an expansion of its team. “Otto is a very creative, forward-thinking design firm,” she says, noting that the two organizations share space the Manhattan office. Otto provides design, strategy, and creative production services in the digital, motion, and print.
Winning Design
The winning nomination was a collaborative effort between DCC and OTTO, a project called dvice, a custom print publication targeting the digital arts community in New York City. dvice is a culmination of two worlds—photography and design. Steve Pandolfi, CEO, DCC, provided creative inspiration for the project and oversaw all aspects of its production.
The internal promotional piece was distributed at a launch party, in which select guests in the digital arts community were invited. A total of 500 pieces were created. “The piece was only distributed at the event to guests. The goal of the project was to explore the food culture of the people who make our city and the worlds they inhabit—from taco trucks to soul food joints, to the art of creating a fine dining experience. It’s more than just the meal—it’s about how it is shared. dvice creates a new theme for each issue and is a collaborative effort from the contributing artists. The beauty of this process is that we never know what or whom will lead us to the next theme,” says Grant
Powerful Print Components
This particular publication featured many components, including an outer wrapper with butcher images printed on rolls of white butcher paper and mounted to brown kraft paper. Four-color prints were produced on DCC’s large format Durst Rho printer. Printed pieces were then mounted to the kraft paper and cut on a Zünd flatbed die cutter, hand wrapped, and tied with a white cotton cord.
The publication’s cover featured 100 pt. chipboard with gloss vinyl CAD cut white lettering. Black binder’s tape was applied to the outer edges.
The inside contents featured many unique elements, including a menu/credit page that incorporated a four-printed-page, self-cover piece measuring 6.5×9.5 inches. It was printed in CMYK on an Hewlett-Packard (HP) Indigo 5500 digital press on International Paper Accent Opaque 120# cover weight media.
The piece also included ten townhouse cards and a sleeve. The cards measured 2.5×5 inches each and the die cut sleeve measured 2.625×5.125 inches. These were printed CMYK on an HP Indigo 10000 digital press on International Paper Endurance Silk 130# cover weight stock. Offline, the cards also received an aqueous gloss coating and the sleeves an aqueous satin coating.
Another element, placemats, comprised of 21 leaves plus a cover and backer at 18×12 inches. The cover features International Paper Accent Opaque 100# cover and the text sheets on Accent Opaque 80#. They were printed in CYMK on an HP Indigo 10000 press.
The piece also featured many other components, each with unique printing specifications. The turnaround for 500 pieces was ten days.
Grant states that the paper used for the dvice project was donated by International Paper. She says Accent Opaque accounted for about 90 percent of it.
A Lasting Impression
According to Grant, the project was very well received. “We are entering it into several contests for both design and print. dvice is an ongoing and will eventually have a website to support it,” she says.
DCC/OTTO’s dvice project showcases the powerful collaboration between print and design. By implementing the capabilities of many different print platforms, paired with the right media, and fresh ideas, it is a promotion that makes a lasting impression. dps
