Press: Tactile finishing work wins awards

There are few printers who could say they've had client rub their faces with the finished job they've just collected from the front desk, or who couldn't put their business cards down because of the finish.

Award-winning Auckland printers Fuzed have experienced both, thanks to the tactile and visual quality of their work for clients located from New Zealand to New York.

Fuzed won nine Pride In Print gold medals last year and seven the year before, also won an international award from a Scodix machine purchased through Currie Group NZ, and is producing work that is being noticed in Australia.

Matt Mills, general manager of the family-owned and operated company says the awards were from work produced on previous Scodix (a digital enhancement press) but the lastest machine gives them even more functionality and is triple the speed.

Their new purchase, the Scodix Ultra Pro is not only faster but has the ability to switch between two different polymers rapidly, increasing the range of special effects that can be achieved.

He says the flawless registration by air vacuum is breathtaking, enabling special effects to be applied to very delicate designs. It was partly this ability that helped them win an international award for a premiere movie invitation featuring space ships rounding the moon.

The machine takes paper sizes from A3 to B2 and is suitable to print products ranging from posters to business cards and everything in between.

It works on applying UV-cured low-rise or high rise polymer giving a tactile and glossy effect and can be used to produce metallic looking (across the full CMYK range), full gloss or low sheen spot print.

Matt says the company which runs over three sites in the Morningside, Kingsland areas, was looking to diversify when they bought the previous Sxodix three years ago.

A designer by trade, he says all companies have to evolve to survive in today's business climate. "We saw a possibility and added this to our market and now we do trade work too."

As for those clients who couldn't put their jobs down, he explains: "One client kept rubbing the card across his cheek because of the feel of it, and many others run their thumbs over it."

Currie Group NZ's national sales manager Graham McDonald, says the machine is extremely versatile taking substrates from 135 to 675 gsm and up to 0.7mm thick.