Gold Ink Awards Entry: Invitation Blends Clever Diecuts, Design in an Accordian Fold

The complete invitation contains three components.

Direct Printing Impressions created this clever piece with a heart diecut that shows the pink heart on the birthday invitation.

The invitation with pink heart in the center

A closer look at the front of the fold-out component.

A closer look at the back of the fold-out component.

When opened, the other side of the fold-out component with diecut heart, and pink label for change of date.

A cool view when the fold-out component is partially closed.

PHILADELPHIA — April 28, 2016 — This 2016 Gold Ink Awards entry was submitted and entered into the Invitations category by Direct Printing Impressions, a commercial printer based in West Caldwell, N.J. The complete piece contains three components — an envelope, fold-out piece, and the invitation itself. The invitation was cleverly designed with a bright pink heart at the center, which fits neatly into the diecut heart on the fold-out component. When the date of the event needed to be changed at the last minute, the printer added a pink label and placed it over the original date. What makes this birthday invitation stand out is the unique artwork, intricate diecut edges, and the cool accordian fold.

Printed on a six-color Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102 press with in-line coating, the invitation run was produced in two lots, with a quantity of 200 for each version. The invitation was printed using a double hit of Dense Black (to ensure solid black coverage on an uncoated sheet) and PMS 189 was applied with overall lay-flat aqueous coating. Paper used for this project was Mohawk Superfine Ultra White 120-lb. cover.

On the binding and finishing end, the invitations were laser diecut and accordion folded. The pink liner (100-lb. Superfine text) in the envelopes was diecut, and then glued into 28-lb Mohawk Superfine A-10 envelopes.

According to Frank Aresta, managing partner at Direct Printing Impressions, one aspect of the project that was particularly challenging to produce was printing the graphics in perfect registration to the intricate diecutting. While the process of laser diecutting can be tedious, says Aresta, the printer was able to turn the project around in just seven working days.

"The key to this project was working out the pluses and the minuses of laser diecutting," Aresta explains. "The artist originally designed the inside of the invitation with black letters on a white background. Unfortunately, with laser diecutting, this does not work well without leaving laser burn marks on the edges. So we worked together to change the design to fit production needs."

Do you think you can beat this Gold Ink Awards entry? If so, let’s see your best work! Click here to choose from a complete list of categories and to learn more about why you should enter the printing industry’s most prestigious competition. Return your entries by the June 17, 2016!

All of the top winners will be recognized on the Gold Ink Website, through our social media platforms, and in Printing Impressions. Additionally, we will be regularly selecting a "Best Entry" that will be promoted across our multi-channel platforms.