Dunedin mayor Dave Cull presented New Zealand’s premier print industry award to local company Southern Colour Print at a ceremony at the The Octagon in the city centre.
Southern Colour won the coveted Supreme Award at the 2016 New Zealand Pride In Print Awards held last month for New Zealand Post stamps printed on the fabric used in the Adidas jerseys worn by the Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks in 2015.
Using rugby jersey fabric for a stamp that is useable for postage is an industry first and has been praised by postal authorities, stamp enthusiasts and Adidas.
In front of an audience of Pride In Print patrons and sponsors, Otago printing industry stalwarts and representatives from New Zealand Post, Mayor Cull congratulated Southern Colour Print for showing how an Otago company can successfully compete on the international stage.
"Dunedin is renowned for leading the way in business creativity, innovation and excellence," he said. "Southern Colour Print's achievement in winning this coveted award exemplifies these qualities and reinforces Dunedin's reputation as one of the world's great small cities – an internationally competitive and growing knowledge centre."
Simon Allison, Head of Stamps and Coins at New Zealand Post, says the national carrier was proud to work in partnership with Southern Colour to deliver the innovative stamp. “The 'can do' attitude displayed by Southern Colour Print enabled this seemingly-crazy stamp idea to become a reality,” he said.
Pride In Print Awards Manager Sue Archibald said the entry had been a perfect showcase for the quality and ingenuity of the New Zealand printing industry.
“The stamps also won the Industry Development Category of the Awards, which is the platform to present innovative and avant-garde techniques. This is ground-breaking technology – the judges asked ‘what is it?’ when they first picked up them up. Closer inspection showed the stamps featured mini cut-outs of the World Cup-winning jersey.
“The out-of-the-box thinking in using the materials worn by Richie McCaw, Ben Smith, Kieran Reid and company simply stunned the judging panel. Stamp production will never be the same again after this.”