The winners of the second Inca Digital Excellence Awards (IDEAs) - designed to celebrate the creative and remarkable effects and products produced by innovative companies throughout the world using Inca printers - have been announced.

The judges - Barney Cox, Senior Consultant at InfoTrends; Stan Kilpin, Publisher of Digital Image Australia/New Zealand and Noel Ward, MD of Brimstone Hill Associates in the USA - were challenged to select outstanding efforts from an exceptional group of entries submitted from around the world. Entries in each of the six categories were selected on the basis of originality of the job, complexity of the substrate, ability to overcome design and concept challenges, success of making something special, client benefit, and visual and structural impression.

The category winners, who spanned three different continents, received a trip to SGIA in Las Vegas, courtesy of Inca, and were presented with an Inca IDEA trophy. In addition, SGIA graciously provided winners full SGIA Business Packages, which enabled free entry to the SGIA Expo and access to seminars during the show.

“This group of entries surpassed our expectations, and we would like to thank everyone who participated in the IDEAs programme this year,” notes Heather Kendle, Director of Marketing, Inca Digital Printers. “The submissions were extraordinary, in part due to the wide range of materials they are able to use, from more common plastics and boards, to more unusual substrates such as pizza dough! There were interior and exterior designs, walk-through displays, and even flip-flop sandals and interactive mannequins among the many creative entries. All of the entrants should be proud of the work they have done.”

“We are very pleased with the number of brilliant entries we received. They demonstrate that digital print technology can achieve remarkable results and allows print providers to create almost anything for their customers,” says Yoshinari Otani, COO, Inca Digital Printers. “What is particularly gratifying is that the extraordinary entries were produced on a wide range of Inca printers, from the more recent Inca Onsets, to Inca Spyders, Columbia Turbos and even on Inca Eagles installed more than a decade ago. We believe it’s a wonderful testament to the investment value of Inca Digital printers, and the ingenuity of our customers.”

The six categories (Display Graphics, 3D POS, Retail Interiors, Interactive Display, Décor & Furniture and Product Decoration) were created by Inca to encourage the widest possible range of entries and reveal some inspiring applications. All six categories were well represented and the prize-winners and runners-up in each were as follows:

Display Graphics:

• Winner - Artwork Digital, Brazil: for its own promotional campaign, a prototype of a Harley V-Rod 2008 printed on an Inca Spyder 320 and assembled from sheets of Re-Board?. It showed all the possibilities of working with Re-Board, creating something very innovative with the material. “Makes me want the display in my office! Innovative, compelling; shows what can be done with the material and print engine,” commented judge Noel Ward.
• Runner-up and Special Award for Creativity - Art Center, Brazil: for a self-promotional targeted campaign, using an Inca Spyder 320 and Inca Onset S20 to print fake pizza toppings directly onto real pizza dough. The 400 pizzas were delivered to creative agencies in S?o Paulo, with the message, ‘We print on paper, too.’

3D POS

• Winner – Delta Group, UK: This dazzling, large Snow White walk-through display for NBC Universal offered a visual impact of the feeling of the movie, including live action footage and sound. The size, structural design and print registration from a Columbia Turbo were critical, as was the quality finish. “Massive scale and obviously a complex job to conceive and produce,” noted judge Barney Cox.
• Runner-up  - Smurfit Kappa, Ireland: A Cadbury tradeshow self-supporting Halloween crypt display printed on an Inca Eagle H on both sides of Re-Board?. Large enough to be seen throughout the exhibition centre, hundreds of people walked through it to view confectionery displays.

Retail Interiors

• Winner – Marketing Alliance Group, US: Printed on an Inca Onset S40, this mermaid graphic for Casey Key Fish Bar was taken from an original oil painting on canvas, photographed, edited, and printed on poplar wood. Challenges were working with the grain, eliminating moisture, and the right balance of ink lay-down. Said judge Stan Kilpin, “The artwork and design play a large part in the success of this entry.”
• Runner-up - Augustus Martin, UK: A semi-permanent POS for Lloyds TSB Bank showcasing that they were Olympic sponsors. Inspired by the Olympic podium and printed on an Onset S70, the piece was made of Foamex display board and white Perspex.

Interactive Display

• Winner – Artwork Digital, Brazil: This giant-sized toy train with TV monitors and DVDs, was printed on Re-board? with an Inca Onset S20. “Fun!” exclaimed Noel Ward. “Kids wanted to take them home.”
• Runner-up - Express Image, USA: This self promotion, a 6-colour job using an Inca Onset S40 to print on vinyl laminated on plastic, gave the illusion of being a real-life automobile, combining video (LCD screens) with static print.

Decor and Furniture

• Winner – Artwork Digital, Brazil: Printed on 5 and 10 mm acrylic and vinyl adhesive on an Inca Spyder 320, this decorative ‘display’ consists of two separate recycling containers — one for used magazines and newspapers, and one for outdated prescription medications. Commented Stan Kilpin,”Very good design. Excellent printing on the substrate and a very successful result.”
• Runner-up - Dael Printing, Belgium: The Clicwall deco panel of bumper cars, printed on an Inca Onset S20, was 2.6m high x 2.4m wide. Dael experimented with many tests to print the correct top layer with perfect adhesion on MDF based panels.

Product Decoration

• Winner – Artwork Digital, Brazil: Printing on rubber with an 8-colour Inca Spyder 320 (CMYK, white, light cyan, light magenta), customized flip-flop sandals were designed and created as a promotional piece for Fiat.
• Runner-up - Artwork Digital, Brazil: The toy train with video monitors received honours in two categories.