RIT Students & Print Panther Win FSEA Gold Leaf Award with Konica Minolta MGI JETvarnish 3D Tech

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), in New York, has long been considered one of the top graphic arts universities and “print schools” in the world. To help educate a new generation of students about advancements in digital printing technology and career opportunities in the industry, Dawn Nye, product marketing and solutions manager, Konica Minolta (Booth 9536), helped to arrange a special “Design & Production” course with RIT Professor Chris Bondy, and Christine Yardley, owner of Print Panther in Toronto and a leading international print evangelist. The focus was creating a “Holiday Greeting” application with MGI JETvarnish 3D digital print enrichment technology.

The end result was a collaboration called “More than a Box” that proved of such surpassing quality that the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) awarded it a prestigious “Gold Leaf Award” at their biennial Odyssey Expo event.

Konica Minolta is the global distributor for MGI products, and has sponsored many educational programs for the graphic arts industry based on the Accurio and JETvarnish 3D technologies.

“Professor Chris Bondy is an industry leader who has helped educate students on the values and virtues of the printing and packaging graphic arts industries for many years,” Nye says. “Christine Yardley and Print Panther represent a new breed of printer that thrives on design-focused, campaign-driven, creative uses of digital technology, and together they made a great team for this RIT course and student project through their leadership and donation of time and talent.”

The students’ print application project was a holiday folding carton package and combined “Season’s Greetings” gift. The truly unique aspect of this project was that the conception, design, and production of the finished piece created so much “more than a box.” It was a professionally-produced luxury gift box printed with the Print Panther Accurio 6100 color press, and then finished on their JETvarnish 3D press. It is also a very fun, interactive “pop-up” winter landscape scene with evergreen trees, snowdrifts, and icicles. The hidden gem of a present located inside the box is a useful, practical, and very attractive, charming holiday tree ornament.