Chicago, IL (May 21, 2008) – Rickard Bindery, an industry-leader in binding and finishing, brought home five awards from the prestigious Printing Industries of Illinois/Indiana (PII) Achievement in Print Excellence Awards, including one award in the coveted "Best of Category" distinction.
 
The Best of Category award was given for outstanding craftsmanship in the creation, design and production of printed materials. This year, 43 companies entered a total of 393 printed pieces in the competition, according to PII.
 
Best of Category
Rickard Bindery won the Best of Category award in the "They Said It Couldn't Be Done" division for its What We Do! brochure on the company's capabilities. The piece also earned a Certificate of Merit in the Print/Graphic Arts Self-Promotion category.
 
For the first time in its 108-year history, Rickard Bindery achieved a two-sided step down accordion fold on this project in a fully automated fashion. This is no ordinary fold sequence because it has folds made behind folds, which on a buckle folder should not be possible. The end result is a stepped progression from both the front and back.
 
In theory, a buckle folder should not be able to handle panel sizes which alternate between small and large. This folded piece does exactly that, alternating between 3.25" and 3.5". Utilizing proprietary folding techniques, Rickard Bindery was able to make these "folds behind folds" giving the brochure its stepped panels in two directions.        
 
"Our company has a long history of innovation and this is another example of our efforts to continually push the boundaries of what is possible," says Jack Rickard, President of Rickard Bindery.
 
Winners in this category are automatically entered in the Premier Print Awards competition known as the "Bennys" that's sponsored by the Printing Industries of America and will be judged later this year against other regional winners from across the country. Rickard Bindery won two Bennys in 2004.
 
Award of Excellence                                              
Rickard Bindery secured an Award of Excellence for its project, The Look Book, for Nexxus Hair Care in the Diecuts, Pop-ups, Unique Folds, and Involvement Devices category. This mini-folded product featured six accordion folds and two wraps to the final size of 4" x 1.75".
 
"This is an exciting piece," says Kevin Rickard, Vice President of Rickard Bindery. "Not only is  it miniature, but the die cut shape of each panel provides the end user with an extremely attractive and functional product."
 
Certificate of Merit
Rickard Bindery received the AIPX Certificate of Merit for an office furniture catalog for Haworth in the Finishing Techniques-Binding Processes category that measured 2.125" by 2.375". Using its special miniature stitching heads, Rickard Bindery cut and folded a 12- and 16-page signature in a 3-up configuration for this project. They applied 1-sitch per book then the books were moved to flatbed cutters for the angle cut which gave the product a unique trapezoid final appearance.
                                                                                    
In the Print/Graphic Arts Self Promotion category, Rickard Bindery also picked up a Certificate of Merit for its 68-page Helpful Hints book. The cover was designed as a 6-pager that incorporated the .125 trim so that when final trims were made, the back cover would hold a nested 2-page pull out of practical information.
 
As a resource for its clients, Rickard Bindery develops original content related to the bindery world that they feel will be of use.
 
"We have stuck to our original premise by making these tips useful and topical," says Jim Egan, Sales Manager at Rickard Bindery. "To give our customers all the past Hints in one useful place, we designed our 'Collection of Helpful Hints' Book which we distributed to our clients across the country. It has been picked up by three universities as a supplement to their text books."
 
According to Rickard Bindery, the feedback they have received from its Helpful Hints has been tremendous.
 
"We are pleased our clients view this information as a valuable resource," says Egan.