Two New Zealand companies Supacolour Group Ltd of Whangarel and APC Innovate shared the coveted Industry Development and Creativity Category Prize at Pride in Print 2017. One producing some of the best clothing transfers in the world and the other potentially revolutionising the design of exhibition stands.

Supacolour Group Ltd of Whangarei won for its Custard World transfer that combines digital and screen printing in a way that only a handful of printers in the world can match, and Auckland’s APC Innovate won for its Gift Trader exhibition stand that is made of fully-recyclable board.

Supacolour is a start-up Northland firm that has discovered how to create transfers for clothes, caps and fabrics that have more vibrant colours, are durable and are softer to the touch. They also comply with standards required for children’s wear and last longer in the wash compared to traditional methods.

Design judge Angelique Sparnaay-Martin said that the breakthrough offers huge scope for the branding market such as sports clubs and company logos, and the leisure and fashion market.

As one of the few companies in the world who can do this, Supacolour are breaking through the boundaries of what is available through print in New Zealand and are delivering something new to the market, said Ms Sparnaay-Martin.

They have aligned digital and print technology so that glue can be added to the ink. The transfer comes out still wet, so that it can be cured and touches added by screen printing.

The transfers are then sent to retailers with instructions on how to apply them to the t-shirt or other items. They are beautifully soft and don’t deteriorate after being washed many times. This shows real innovation in giving New Zealand something we have not had before.

Although having reformed as a new company in the past 12 months, Supacolour’s Bill Armitt said that producing this type of work has been a goal for “some years”.

They are bringing something entirely new to the market, combining full-colour digital print with the durability and longevity of screen printing. They are only one of ten companies in the world capable of producing this and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere.

It has created quite a stir in the market — and not just here in New Zealand. They are sending half of their production daily to Australia, they have a customer in Canada and are developing a customer in Europe. They are developing more contacts which will come to fruition.

The Custard World transfer was created for end client Embroidery Works, a full-service branding company servicing the needs of the promotional products industry.

APC Innovate is living up to its name with a phenomenal exhibition stand that Pride In Print Awards manager Sue Archibald said that is a fantastic example of going outside the square. This could well change the way companies organize their exhibition planning in future.

APC Innovate created the stand for XPO Exhibitions Ltd which owns and org0anises 13 of New Zealand’s largest and longest-running business-to-business trade show exhibitions and events.

This company is using board and print to create a stand that comes as a flat pack and can be assembled in 30 minutes, either as a free-standing unit or by attaching panels to the wall with Velcro. It is totally recyclable so once the exhibition is over, it can be discarded into the recycling bin or it can be dismantled back to a flat pack and used again.

This could revolutionise exhibitions. The cost of hiring stands is high and people often have to use professional installers. This reduces the cost enormously and it can do by an individual. Not only that, it looks great — it will probably be the best stand in the show.

This award is about the sustainability and recyclability of the products they are using and how they are developing them into things that traditionally cardboard doesn’t do. The whole expo market is huge and is especially massive in Europe where this board product was developed. Now they are introducing it into the New Zealand market and hopefully it’s all onwards and upwards from here.