Toyo Ink Group 2009 Calendar Recognized For Print Excellence

Toyo Ink Mfg. Co., Ltd., in cooperation with its Americas regional headquarters, Toyo Ink International Corp., was awarded the “Benny,” or the best of category honor, in the 2009 Premier Print Awards for its entry, the “Toyo Ink Group 2009 Calendar ‘Live With…’” The calendar took top honors in the Specialty Inks or Coatings, Fragrances, or “Invisible” Printing Inks category.
    
The theme the company selected for this piece is “Live With…”. The Toyo Ink Group places the highest priority on environmental preservation, and it was the aim of the calendar’s creators to inspire environmental action in all who look upon the dream-like imagery. Toyo Ink Mfg. Company’s Take. Watanabe, creative director of the 2009 calendar, explains, “For the base designs, original artwork by world-renowned Japanese graphic designer U.G. Sato were chosen for his use of bold, playful imagery in harsh and even disturbing scenarios. The illustrations express a sense of urgency, emphasizing the need for us all to respect the environment and do what we can to upkeep it for generations to come.”
    
Various offset printing techniques and specialized printing processes were utilized in creating the eye-catching visual effects showcased in this year’s calendar. The entry highlights some of the advances the Group had made over the past year in printing innovation, such as crepe, phosphorescent, solid printing, pearl reflection and edgeless techniques.
    
Of particular mention is the execution of the double-flocking process used to create the floral ‘spots’ of the leopards in the September-October illustration. Toyo Ink achieved pile contamination control and improved print precision by customizing a screen press and its mechanical settings. Once thought impossible via conventional printing systems, the company successfully executed the flocky process by mounting piles of completely different color and texture, side-by-side, on to the same print medium.
    
Toyo Ink’s TK HyUnity Kaleido Ink series of high-performance offset inks was used to print all base designs. TK HyUnity Kaleido Ink four-color process inks incorporate specially formulated, highly saturated pigments that enable it to offer a wider color gamut closer to Adobe RGB.
    
Toyo Ink once again partnered with Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. and Fukuju Sangyo Co., Ltd. to produce the 2009 calendar.