Soar Print - Blog

Greeting cards designed and in NZ and printed sustainably by Soar

Image Gallery is a New Zealand success story; a local company using Kiwi imagery for greeting cards that stand out for their superior design, great ideas and sustainability.

The greeting card industry in New Zealand is strong with a good outlook. Millennials are communicating more than any generation before them. While they use digital devices for day-to-day communication, special occasions are more likely to be marked with a carefully chosen card and a handwritten message.

New Zealand greeting card companies are competing with the world

In the NZ greeting card market, Image Gallery’s main competitors are small importers of niche cards sourced from the UK, Europe and the US, as well as large firmsthat print and manufacture their own. Image Gallery is one of a handful of companies that design, print and distribute greeting cards locally.

“Publishing local content is an important part of our product mix. There are so many talented Kiwi artists and designers creating not only great art, but great commercially viable art that our customers are looking for. To then have that art printed in NZ on sustainable card stock finishes the story,” says Edward Robinson, general manager of Image Gallery.

Cost-effective short runs of greeting card printing

To ensure their greeting card products are profitable, Image Gallery has to make every print run as economical as possible. Quality and a quick turnaround are two other must-haves.

“The trusted relationship we have with Soar has helped us to learn and understand the whole print process, from quoting to setting up files, including how we can best configure the layups to make the most out of a print run, “says Kember Snaith, graphic designer at Image Gallery.

Soar has also streamlined the print ordering service to create a simplified process for managing Image Gallery’s complicated requirements. The icing on the cake is continual sourcing of attractive card stocks that are derived from responsibly managed forests. Soar is accredited with both the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

Environmentally-responsible stocks and vegetable inks

FSC is a non-governmental organisation that promotes the responsible management of the world's forests. We were the first printer in NZ to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. PEFC is an international non-profit, organisation dedicated to sustainable forest management. We are certified by PEFC, the world's largest forest certification system.

At Soar Print we also use vegetable based inks, rather than traditional petroleum inks. Derived from corn, walnut, coconut, linseed, canola and soya beans, vegetable inks release significantly fewer VOCs into the atmosphere during the drying process. We’re also able to use water-based products to clean the press after production, rather than solvents. What’s more, stripping ink from paper during the paper recycling process is much easier with vege inks and produces less hazardous waste.

Take a look at Image Gallery greeting cards

Read more about Soar’s sustainability credentials

Being a big loser made Soar a big winner at sustainability awards

Maggie Bainbridge-Smith, Jenny Carter and Fred Soar at the Enviro-Mark Solutions 2019 Awards.

Soar was named one of New Zealand’s biggest losers at the Enviro-Mark Solutions 2019 Awards. We’re talking carbon loss, of course. Our achievement was recognised with the award for Excellence in Climate Action – Small Organisation.

The Enviro-Mark Solutions Awards are a biennial celebration of success stories in measurable climate action for businesses certified under the carboNZero^CertTM, CEMARS® and Enviro-Mark® programmes.

As well as recognising the top carbon reducers from the past year, the awards salute organisations who demonstrate exceptional leadership in environmental management.

A major contributor to the carbon reduction that won us the award was purchasing the Océ VarioPrint i300 digital press, which is highly energy efficient and reduces paper waste. Partnering with other carbon neutral companies was another factor in our win.

We were absolutely tickled to be a winner, because our achievements were being measured against some of the country’s sustainability heavyweights. To qualify for the Excellence in Climate Action awards, organisations had to be carboNZero or CEMARS certified for at least three years and have achieved a minimum of 20% absolute reduction in carbon emissions. More than 131 certified companies were contending for awards.

Enviro-Mark Solutions Chief Executive, Dr Ann Smith said that the combined carbon reductions of the finalists in these categories are equivalent to taking more than 23,000 medium-sized cars off the roads for a year.

Excellence in Climate Action - Small Organisation
Winner: Soar Printing Limited
Soar reduced its carbon footprint by 32% on base year through investing in an energy efficient printing press machine that creates less waste and partnering with other carbon neutral companies.

See the full list of winners

We can print on wood (and a lot of other unexpected surfaces)!

The arrival of our new HP R2000 large format flatbed printer has opened the door to a brave new world of printing. Now we can print on wood, aluminium, acrylic, canvas, vinyl, fabric, Beaver Board (recyclable corflute alternative) and almost any other flexible or rigid substrate you can imagine.

What does this mean for you? Very simply, it means that high quality signage or decorative branding pieces can be easily and cost-effectively produced.

Large format printing with the R2000 comes with some sizable benefits:

The concept of ‘print and mount’ has gone. The R2000 press can print directly onto rigid substrates.
Colours are bright and vibrant, but also allow the intrinsic properties of the surface being printed on to show through. For example, if you print on a brushed chrome board, you get a brushed chrome image; if you print on plywood, you get a plywood-textured image.
The latex ink we use is water-based and has no smell, plus it’s highly durable.
For even greater durability and scratch resistance, we can add an extra latex overcoat.
Prints can be up to 2.4m wide.
You’ll enjoy the best white ink laydowns in the market, with no ugly U.V core lines. Its quality, gloss level and density make it stand out from the crowd, and it doesn’t go yellow over time!

If you can imagine it, we can print it

The applications for this type of printing are many, and the list is growing daily. Traditionally, large format printing was about signage and point-of-sale material, but the category has expanded to include artworks, personalised home or business interiors, vehicle branding and even clothing.

Here are just a few of the ways R2000 printing can be used:

Menu boards printed directly onto plywood, acrylic or Beaver Board for markets, cafés and street food stalls
Branded vinyl wraps for vehicles – all over or nose/tail
Health and safety signage for offices, warehouses, construction sites and factories
Branded wallpaper for foyers, reception areas and conferences
POS backboards, stands and fit-together display shelving
Murals and imagery for retail store and office interiors
Huge window decals for sales, promotions and seasonal signage
Wall decals for decorating kitchens, bedrooms and living areas
Branded giveaways, like printed fit-together smartphone stands made from plywood
Fabric banners and room dividers for trade shows and conferences
Art works that can be applied to exteriors or interiors, temporarily or permanently

To find out more about the R2000’s capabilities or ask a curly question about large format printing, send Brian Landry an email.

Find out more about Soar’s large format printing capabilities.

Our fine art carbon neutral calendar, illustrated by Erin Forsyth

Every year we produce a calendar to exhibit some of our more specialised printing skills and showcase the talents of a remarkable New Zealand creative. For our 2019/20 effort, Erin Forsyth has provided a series of exquisite illustrations featuring NZ native species.

The works printed in our calendar come from Erin’s ‘A Few’ exhibition, which was held last year. A variety of flora and fauna are represented in this collection with special attention given to purerehua/butterflies (lepidoptera), manu/birds (avifauna), pekapeka/bats (chiroptera) and rakau/trees.

Erin’s not only famous for her nature illustrations. She also produces contemporary works, including sculptures, which reference traditional and contemporary symbolism, archetypes and anecdotes. Her comically dark illustrations have graced walls, cafes, clothing and album covers.

In recent months we’ve helped Erin produce two journals – Tauhou Volume 1 and Rakau, Trees A-Z. The words featured in our calendar are from her Tauhou series. Here’s Erin’s explanation of her Tauhou concept:

“Tauhou is a publishing concept that combines refreshed information and contemporary natural history illustrations of plants, animals and ecosystems - the biological diversity - of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

The motivation for works in this series is to ease accessibility to information regarding the flora, fauna and varied environments of this special place, with an aim toward increasing awareness of their cultural and scientific significance, as well as the threats and challenges they face, to increase active engagement with their protection for prosperity.

Illustrations in the Tauhou series are hand-drawn studies in gouache, graphite or ink paired with basic and factual descriptions.”

CarboNZero^(CertTM) printing

This new calendar has been produced using our carbon neutral printing service, which means that carbon inputs associated with paper, inks, waste, finishing, transport and the electricity used by the printing technology have been neutralised through New Zealand carbon offset programmes.

Visit Erin Forsyth’s website.

See an online catalogue of ‘A Few’

Find out more about sustainable printing with Soar.

Printing Jan Hellriegel's Sportsman of the Year CD cover and book

Jan Hellriegel and Soar Print go way back. Nothing makes us happier than helping one of New Zealand’s leading musicians bring her print creations to life. Jan’s latest print production, Sportsman of the Year – A Suburban Philosophy, involved printing a CD cover and a book.

Jan is a New Zealand legend; a songwriter/performer/businesswoman that we’re proud to call our own. Sportsman of the Year is her 4^th studio album, but it’s the first to include a book of true-life short stories. With 12 chapters that spin the tales behind the album’s songs, Jan describes it as a ‘musical in a book’.

The book sprang from the album project when Jan realised the new songs were driven by real-life stories. She decided to write the stories that inspired the album, so that the stories would enhance the music and vice versa. The overall theme is about following your dreams and never giving up.

Jan’s songs and stories are a memoir that touches many aspects of her rollercoaster life – growing up in West Auckland, student days, relationships, playing with her band Cassandra’s Ears and her solo career. The book has an easy-reading, conversational tone, while the songs are more refined and poetic.

The name of the project refers to how Jan won the Sportsman of the Year cup at Rangeview Intermediate when she was 12. Back then, she felt she didn't deserve the award and says the album is "calling that 12-year-old back to claim her prizes with pride and without reservation".

Launched on Mother’s Day 12 May, Sportsman of the Year – A Suburban Philosophy is available from Jan’s online store. You can buy the book, the CD or a package that includes both.

Find out more about Soar’s book printing capabilities.

Project facts

Produced on Océ VarioPrint i300 print-on-demand digital press
Foiled matt laminate covers
PUR bound (a form of perfect binding)
First 500 limited edition copies were sequentially numbered

Printing for events that want a smaller carbon footprint

As with many festivals and conferences these days, Techweek19 wanted a small-as-possible carbon footprint. Soar helped them to achieve this with carboNZero printing as a service.

As organisers of New Zealand’s premier festival of innovation, the Techweek team leads by example. They recognise that they can influence others to make responsible decisions about things like print services. That’s why the chose to work with Soar Print. We are the only printing company in New Zealand certified to offer carbon zero services and products under Enviro-Mark Solution’s carboNZero scheme, which exceeds international standards and best practice for a carbon programme.

How carbon neutral printing as a service is done

To provide carbon neutral printing as a service, our in-house expert calculates the carbon inputs associated with paper, waste, finishing, transport and the electricity used by the printing technology. Once the carbon footprint of the print job is known, offsets can be purchased. Soar chooses to buy carbon offsets from New Zealand providers, such as forest regeneration schemes and windfarms. They cost more than some overseas schemes, but the benefits to New Zealand are greater.

By working with us, clients like TechWeek can use the carboNZero brand on their collateral to demonstrate their commitment to environmentally responsible practices. It reflects well on their brand, plus it exposes the concept of carbon neutral printing to other businesses.

For TechWeek19, Soar produced a wide range of printed collateral, including posters, banners, signage, display cubes, name tags and lanyards. Every element in the print mix qualified as a carbon neutral print service.

There’s still time to get to a TechWeek19 event near you

Now in its third year, Techweek aims to inspire and build capability for all New Zealanders by providing a week-long, nationwide opportunity for connection, cross-pollination and learning about all things techy. There are workshops, labs, demonstrations, panel discussions and much more. You don’t need to be a tech person to attend; you just have to be interested in the future of New Zealand and finding local answers to global challenges.

Techweek’s vision is for New Zealand to be globally recognised as a beautiful country where world-leading solutions are born. It’s not just about showcasing leading edge technology, but amplifying brilliant ideas that are solving the biggest global challenges – innovation that’s good for the world.

Visit the Techweek website to find events happening in your city.

Find out more about sustainable printing with Soar.

Printing ‘A Decade of Disruption’ memoir for Basement Theatre

2018 was a milestone year for Basement Theatre – 10 years of creative, challenging, compelling, touching and outrageous live entertainment for Auckland. Now that the dust has settled, Basement has produced an intriguing publication to mark the occasion.

Titled ‘A Decade of Disruption’, it’s a compendium of love letters, script excerpts, doodles, memories and stories by some of the Basement whanau from the first 10 years of the theatre’s life. As Basement Theatre’s print partner, Soar Arts was entrusted with bringing this special piece of memorabilia to life.

“We just click with the Soar Arts team,” commented Tim Blake, Marketing Manager for Basement. “They get who we are and with their help we’ve created such a beautiful object. With over 50 contributions from Basement artists and a giant family tree, we’ve been able to celebrate our first 10 years in a really special way.”

The compendium is a collection of nine books housed within a hard case. One of the books, The Shared Camaraderie of Weirdos, is an oral history of Basement Theatre put together by Rosabel Tan, founder of The Pantograph Punch. This book has a spectacular gold foil cover.

“Rosabel interviewed all the key people involved with Basement, so that she could write an article. But she ended up really loving the way the stories were told. The result is a collection of transcriptions that capture the Basement journey.”

Pulling everything together graphically was the job of One Design, a creative agency that’s been working with Basement Theatre for a couple of years. Casey King was the lead designer and Tim reckons the result could be an award winner for One Design.

Soar has also thrown everything at the compendium, from a print quality point of view, because we love supporting the arts. We’re also handling distribution, complete with VIP packaging, to fulfil online orders. Fingers crossed this project will be a top performer in next year’s Pride in Print Awards!

If you want to secure a copy of A Decade of Disruption, you’ll need to register your interest quickly. Only 200 copies have been produced, so there’s a waitlist. Options include a personalised copy stamped with your name, a copy signed by Basement’s contributing artists and a (cheaper) digital e-book.

Project facts

Slipcase: Manufactured from Colorplan 700gsm Ebony, foiled and die cut on the KAMA Profoil 76 using a matte silver foil. Assembled by Soar Print finishing.

Books: Each book inside the slipcover is perfect bound and printed on the HP Indigo press (covers) and the Océ VarioPrint i300 (text pages). The Shared Camaraderie of Weirdos book has a gold foil cover. Two of the books have mini books stitched inside. The compendium also includes a glossy concertina brochure of acknowledgments.

Distribution: Soar is distributing the Basement publication, complete with special packaging that adds to the experience.

For more information about Soar Arts, email Stuart Shepherd stuarts@soarprint.co.nz

Find out more about Soar Arts, a print service for the creative sector.

Soar strikes gold at 2019 Pride in Print Awards

Quality is how we’re judged in our industry, so entering the annual Pride in Print Awards is our way of making sure we’re measuring up. This year we secured seven awards - five golds and two high commendations.

Exposing our printing and finishing work to the microscopic scrutiny of experts isn’t easy. There’s certainly some nail-biting going on at Soar while judging is underway! But skipping the awards isn’t an option. If we didn’t participate in the Pride in Print Awards, our clients would have no impartial proof of our quality standards.

This year our gold awards span a wide range of print formats. It’s a good sign, because it means we’re achieving high standards across a broad spectrum of disciplines. Here are three gold-winning projects that were particularly challenging to produce:

Make Every Day is a 112-page book featuring the work of architect/artist Rebecca Commissaris. Graphic designer Katie Kerr and Soar Arts collaborated to achieve the highest quality proofing in pre-press, enabling us to produce an outstanding print result. The book was printed with our HP Indigo 7800 and Xerox iGEN 150. Finishing included section sewing and a cloth exposed spine.

Vine Street fruit wine labels feature Color Logic to achieve a metallic ink effect. They were printed on our HP Indigo WS6800 Label press using Manta OPP silver metalised SYN52gsm and sealed with matt laminate before die cutting.

Charlotte Graham's Te Waiora, floor art decals commissioned by Britomart Group were printed with UV-resistant latex inks on two specialist anti-slip self-adhesive products, to allow for different surfaces, using our new HP Latex R2000 digital press.

GOLD MEDALS

Vine Street New Zealand fruit wine label, printed by Rocket Print (a division of Soar)

Inspired by Design, printed by Fusion Print (a division of Soar)

Make Every Day book, printed by Soar Arts (a division of Soar)

Charlotte Graham's Te Waiora, commissioned by Britomart, ground-based artwork, printed by Soar Print

B J Ball 2019 Calendar, printed by Soar Print

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Make Every Day book binding, finishing by Soar Print

Britomart Chinese New Year gift card envelope, foiling by Soar Print

Read more about Soar’s commitment to quality.

Soar offers sustainable corflute alternative – Beaver Board

Corflute, aka core flute, has been central to temporary signage for decades. Can you imagine how the real estate industry could get by without it? We can, because now there’s Beaver Board – a 100% paper, 100% recyclable alternative to corflute.

Beaver Board can do everything corflute can do. It’s a super-smooth display board that’s perfect for both indoor and outdoor temporary signage. Ink sticks to it beautifully, so you get really great print quality too.

Brian Landry, GM at Soar, thinks Beaver Board will revolutionise the temporary signage industry.

“It’s the first truly water-resistant paper product to give Corflute a run for its money. And it’s a choice you can be proud of because it’s both fully recyclable and FSC certified, which means the paper was sourced from responsibly-managed forests.”

From a printer’s point of view, Beaver Board ticks all the boxes. As well as superb ink adhesion, it lies absolutely flat – perfect for use with one of Soar’s new flat-bed large format digital printers. And its composite construction gives it excellent rigidity, which means it doesn’t have to be as thick as corflute to do a great signage job.

From a sustainability point of view, corflute can’t touch Beaver Board. At the end of its life, it can be recycled through regular recycling systems.

We’re giving Brian the last word:

“As the print industry thinks about greener solutions for print, products like Beaver Board are brilliant. In most countries, corflute can’t be recycled – it ends up in landfill. Beaver Board, on the other hand, is completely recyclable, so eco-conscious businesses that need a short-term display or POS solution can use it with a clear conscience.”

To find out more about using Beaver Board for temporary signage, inside or out, send Brian an email.

Find out more about Soar’s large format printing capabilities.

One legendary family print company joins forces with another

Most Aucklanders have heard of Newcomb Digital, formerly known as Neville Newcomb Reprographics. The company has been at the forefront of quick digital printing for decades. Now Newcomb Digital is joining the Soar group of companies and bringing their equipment, people and brand under our roof in New North Road.

If you think Soar has an interesting history, dating back to when Lt. Colonel Fred Soar started the company in Onehunga nearly a hundred years ago, then you’ll be blown away by Newcomb’s history.

The family behind Newcomb Print can trace its ancestry back to Sir Hugo Le Newcomen, a Knight Templar of the 3^rd Crusade, who settled in the English district of Lincoln. The Newcomb family also has connections to Thomas Newcomb ‘The Elder’ and Thomas Newcomb ‘The Younger’, who were King’s Printers throughout the reigns of Charles II, James II and William III.

While the ink in the Soar family’s blood doesn’t stretch back quite that far, Newcomb Digital and Soar Print share an intriguing grandfather-grandson connection.

“I was named after my grandfather Fred Soar, who started up Soar Print in Onehunga in 1920. Neville Mark Newcomb - known to most as Mark - was named after his grandfather Neville Newcomb, who set up the Newcomb family’s first New Zealand business in His Majesty’s Arcade in 1886,” says Fred Soar.

Neville Newcomb Senior established his first Auckland business in 1886.

Lt Colonel Fred Soar started his Auckland printing business in 1920

Combined, Soar and Newcomb have spent more than 200 years looking after the print needs of Auckland businesses. Soar’s strength has always been with high-quality offset printing, while Newcomb (previously known as Neville Newcomb Print and today known as Newcomb Digital) has had more of a quick-print and short run focus.

Newcomb Digital will move from Parnell to Soar’s premises in New North Road in late March this year. While it will be owned by the Soar Group of Companies, the brand Newcomb Digital will be retained and promoted.

Capturing kids’ lyrical brilliance with the Play It Strange book

Recently Soar Arts printed an amazing book for one of our favourite not-for-profit clients. It’s the 2018 lyric book for Play it Strange, which captures the 16 original songs written by young New Zealanders during last year’s Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition.

It was a pleasure to help Mike Chunn and his team put this book together. The Soar Arts team was even involved with doing the artwork, following a template created by the Play It Strange graphic designer.

Every double page spread of the book shows an introduction written by the songwriter, then the lyrics of their song. Professional recordings of the songs can be heard at www.playitstrange.bandcamp.com

“Songs written by young NZers forge a communal strand, a national voice, a summation of who they are and with that, it’s clear that they are telling us who we are. Listening to the hundreds of songs that we receive at Play It Strange is like opening a window into the hearts and minds of our youth. And there is much to learn.” Mike Chunn, CEO, Play it Strange.

We produced the book on our new Océ VarioPrint i300, which is based at Fusion Print in Hamilton (a member of the Soar Printing Group). With this amazing piece of printing technology, you can literally touch one button and have a fully-formed book come out the other end of the press. It can fold and stitch (staple) a book in a way that creates a square spine up to 10mm wide – up to 180 pages plus a cover. Your get a perfect bound book, but without the high price that usually comes with perfect binding. For small runs (1 to 2000) it’s a cost-effective way to get a high quality result.

The book was also produced as a Partica digital flipbook. The ability to produce electronic versions of printed books is an important part of Soar Arts capability.

View a Partica flipbook of the lyric book.

Find out more about Play It Strange

Learn about the Océ VarioPrint i300 for book printing.

Here’s an excerpt from the song ‘Dinner Plate’ written by Tara Canton of Chilton St James School, Wellington.

Honestly, isn’t it so strange how her

battery has become so low so suddenly

and how she hates the sight of cutlery, lately.

Red-rimmed eyes become more waterfilled

the more time flies, I notice her jeans have

gone down in size and how she never comes to meal times.

Pins and needles in her arms and legs

cotton wool stuffed in her head

flippin’ through these old magazines

she sees beauty but all I see…….

Are these pretty girls with parasols

picture perfect Barbie dolls,

skeletons at the table tasting lettuce leaves

although they’re craving

sea salt, crinkle cut, whiskey in a sippy cup

Canvases, book, flyers, e-commerce – a total package for Te Kuia Moko

Canvas prints of 34 remarkable paintings by Harry Sangl are on display at Depot Artspace in Devonport. Soar Arts was involved with every aspect of this project, which demonstrates the incredible versatility of our people and printing technology.

Canvases printed on the HP R2000

At the heart of the Te Kuia Moko exhibition, on until March 22, are 34 prints of portraits painted by Harry Sangl in the early 1970s.

In the absence of the original portraits, which are in storage at an unknown location, the prints allow art lovers to appreciate Harry’s immense talent, as well as the extraordinary faces of Maori kuia with moko. Many of the kuia were of Tuhoe descent and Sangl developed a close bond with each, some of whom were over 100-years-old when he painted them.

The prints were produced on Soar Print’s new HPR2000 press. flat-bed large-format digital press, which is revolutionising printing for point-of-sale, trade displays and signage. It’s the only one of its kind in the North Island.

Book reprint with ECO 100 and Wibalin® cover stock

Soar Arts also reprinted The Blue Privilege, a hardcover book that features Harry Sangl’s kuia paintings. The page stock is ECO 100 in natural white 135gsm and the book cover is Wibalin cover stock, which has a vintage look and texture.

We printed the book’s pages on our new CX102 press, which produces the highest offset print quality achievable in New Zealand. The cover was printed direct to Wibalin on our new HP R2000 press, the same flat-bed press we used for the exhibition canvases. To finish the book’s cover, we partnered with the Book Binding Press, who bound the cover to the pages using PUR (polyurethane reactive), the most durable book binding glue available.

Marketing material and e-commerce site

To complete the set, Soar Arts produced the marketing material for the exhibition (posters and flyers) and an e-commerce book sales solution. Soar’s new digital capability makes it possible to produce an integrated campaign of print and online components with a single supplier.

Buy the Blue Privilege book online.

Soar supports a month-long festival of all things eco

We’re proud to be the print sponsor for EcoWest, a West Auckland festival that celebrates the art, science and fun of sustainable living.

EcoWest begins in Saturday 16 March and runs until Sunday 14 April. It includes more than 120 eco and sustainability-related events that will help you to shrink your carbon footprint and live a cleaner, more meaningful life. And it will be fun! EcoWest makes doing the right thing a joy, because it wraps creativity around sustainable living.

Soar printed the EcoWest programme on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) mixed stocks. So even the festival’s marketing is setting an example of how to be a more responsible, future-focused business.

Now in its 8th year, EcoWest covers a lot of ground. Here are just some of the highlights:

Workshops and events in the great outdoors

Native nursery potting
Love your stream
Butterflies!
Glen Eden bat walk
Lizards and insects in West Auckland
Forest therapy walk

Creative opportunities

Basket weaving with harakeke flax
Upcycling old clothes into fashion items
Make your own beeswax wraps
Soap making
Bag making using old tee shirts
How to make a shower timer
DIY natural skincare

Art and music

Lungsong at Lopdell House, a dance experience
Artist talks about climate change
Numerous exhibitions of art works related to sustainability

Conscious living

Tour of Earthsong eco neighbourhood
Healthy homes on a budget
Winter gardening
Funding for carpooling
Zero waste open day
One family, one year, one bin
Composting for beginners

The list goes on and on. There are far too many events and workshops to describe here, so you’ll just need to check out the programme.

Read about Soar’s sustainability credentials.

So even the festival’s marketing is setting an example of how to be a more responsible, future-focused business.

Another big leap forward for Soar: the CX102 Speedmaster

Back in 2008 we wowed the New Zealand print world with the country’s first XL105 Speedmaster. The launch involved loud music, dry ice, dancers, laser lights and a speech by then-PM Helen Clark. It was quite a show.

Now we’re wowing the print world again, this time with New Zealand’s first push-to-stop CX102 Speedmaster, a shining example of Heidelberg print automation.

Before we get into the detail about what makes the CX102 so special, which will please the printophiles amongst you, let’s talk about what it means for our customers.

Unparalleled quality and speed for complex print jobs

The CX102 represents the perfect interplay between people, machines, materials and processes. With speeds of up to 16,500 sheets per hour, there are very few challenges in commercial, label, and packaging printing that it can’t handle. And it switches between jobs without even pausing.

Imagine you’re a high-end furniture designer who requires 10,000 A4 brochures with process, spot PMS and aqueous coating. You also need four additional versions in different languages in the 300-500 run-length range. This press can handle all that and get the printing done in less than 35 minutes

And if you wanted 24 versions of an A1 poster, with 200 copies of each version, the job would take us only 2 and a half hours to print. What’s more, the quality across every output will be consistently impeccable, from first impression to last.

“This press delivers the highest print quality imaginable, while also increasing our productivity and efficiency,” says Fred Soar. “It’s genius.”

Less waste, smaller carbon footprint

The CX 102’s technology raises the benchmark for more than just productivity. Its high energy and resource efficiency make it the most environmentally-responsible press in its class. For example, it uses 50% less paper and ink during setup. It’s certified as a low-emission press by the German Institution for Statutory Insurance and Prevention in the Printing and Paper Industry.

CX102 highlights for print geeks

For the first time in the history of offset printing, workflow is completely automated. The press will progress through every scheduled print job automatically, without any human intervention. We don’t have to pause between jobs. The press operator only interrupts the autonomously running process chain if necessary, i.e. push to stop.

Other highlights include Heidelberg's InterTech Technology Award-winning Prinect Inpress Control, an inline spectrophotometric colour measuring system, Prinect Inspection Control, an inline sheet inspection system, and Prinect Press Center control console with Intellistart, an operator guidance system and integrated Wallscreen.

Want to come and watch?

If you’d like to take a look at our amazing new press, drop an email to fred@soarprint.co.nz. He’ll arrange a time for you to see the CX102 in action.

Beautiful ground-level Britomart artwork printed by Soar

If you’re strolling around Auckland’s CBD this January, direct your feet to the Britomart precinct to see the artwork of Charlotte Graham. Installed on the ground, it was printed by Soar.

The artwork, known as Te Waiora, consists of 24 hand-painted water droplets, many of them inscribed with Maori motifs. The droplets have been materialised as 1200 self-adhesive decals, which you can see applied to walkways throughout Britomart. Te Waiora will remain in place until the end of January 2019.

Charlotte created the artwork to emphasise Christmas as a time of connectedness between whanau and friends; people and the land; past, the present and future. She chose water as a motif because of the way it refers to the maritime histories of Maori, Pakeha and Pacific peoples, as well as Aotearoa’s more recent immigrants. In the Maori language, wai means ‘water’ and ora means ‘life’.

The droplets were printed with UV-resistant latex inks on two specialist anti-slip self-adhesive products, to allow for different surfaces, using our new HP Latex R2000 digital press. This same press is often used to print vinyl car wraps, bespoke adhesive wall murals, point of sale materials and signage. It can print both on roll and rigid substrates up to 50mm thick and boasts the smoothest white ink laydown available in New Zealand today.

To find out more about reproducing artwork onto self-adhesive or other materials, email Brian Landry at brianl@soarprint.co.nz

NZ art book directory by Soar Arts – it’s a first!

'Off The Press: The Art Book Directory’ is a Soar Arts initiative that shines a light on New Zealand art publications.

Until now it’s been difficult to find out about the latest books, monographs and catalogues from New Zealand’s art world. Our Off The Press directory changes all that.

“Most of the arts publications in New Zealand are printed in very short runs, which makes it a challenge for people to find the publications created by our arts community”, says Stuart. “With only a few specialist booksellers remaining in this country and little in the way of an online presence, there’s a real need for a guide like Off The Press to catalogue these works.”

The directory is edited by Katie Kerr, a graphic designer with a passion for art books.

“Arts publications tend to be carefully-crafted objects, and often experimental in both editorial and design”, says Katie. “Without a better platform for national exposure, there is a real possibility of this alternative realm of publishing disappearing in New Zealand. Through Off The Press, we hope to champion both the publishers and the books, showcasing a diverse body of thought relating to art, design, theory and practice – while also exhibiting the creative powers of New Zealand's specialist bookmakers.”

Copies of the first edition of Off The Press have been distributed to selected galleries and participating publishers and artists. The directory is also available as a digital book for mobile offthepress.partica.co.nz.

Next edition of Off The Press coming soon

Soar Arts is working on the next edition of Off The Press, which will be published in May 2019. If you have an arts publication that would benefit from greater exposure, email us before 29 March 2019 offthepress@soarprint.co.nz. Your publication can be as a free listing or as a feature article.

Free listings

Directory free listings will include your book cover with a description up to a maximum of 75 words for each book, in a 1/4 page gallery layout style.

Feature article

For a more impactful promotion of your book, a feature listing offers a double page spread in print and online, with extra photography and extended content over two pages.

You can submit your latest New Zealand visual art publication or catalogue online.

Carbon neutral awards book for SBN – we’d have it no other way!

Soar is a keen supporter of the Sustainable Business Network, a business community dedicated to helping New Zealand become more sustainable. Businesses of all shapes and sizes belong to SBN, including us.

For 15 years, the SBN has been running the NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards, to recognise and celebrate the best sustainability achievements in New Zealand – everything from making products from recycled materials to running communication programmes about minimising waste to landfill.

As print sponsor for the awards, Soar produced the 2018 awards booklet. And this year we did something different: we used our ‘carbon neutral’ certified print service. This means all the emissions involved in production - raw materials, energy consumer, transport and distribution - were measured to establish an accurate carbon footprint for the booklet. After a check by Enviro-Mark Solutions, we offset the emissions by buying New Zealand carbon credits, such as forest regeneration schemes and windfarms.

We printed the booklet with our new Océ VarioPrint, which prints, trims, perfs, folds and binds in a single process. This press is best-in-class internationally for reducing unnecessary waste.

And the SBN Awards winners for 2018 were…

The City Rail Link (CRL) busted through construction and infrastructure industry norms to the highest accolade at SBN’s 2018 awards. See all the winners.

Have you heard about the circular economy?

The work SBN does is best described as helping New Zealand move towards a ‘circular economy’, a sustainable and viable alternative to the dominant ‘take-make-waste’ linear model.

In a circular economy the lifecycles of materials are maximised and their use is optimised. At the end of life, all materials are reutilised. A circular economy is is underpinned by the use of renewable energy. More about NZ’s Circular Economy Accelerator.

Supplement company strikes gold with Soar’s label printing

When a nutritional supplements client needed a label print provider for their home brand range, Soar stepped up to the mark. The result was better quality at a lower cost – always an ideal outcome!

Our client is a New Zealand supplement company that has its own-brand HealthZone products manufactured and packed in the USA. Until recently, a US printing company produced labels for the HealthZone range, but they closed up shop leaving our client in the lurch. Grant McIllmurray, Business Development Manager at Soar, explains:

“Previously the labels were printed in the USA and sent to a site in New Mexico, where they were applied to the supplement containers. Once labelled, the containers were shipped to New Zealand. Our client didn’t get to see the finished result until it was too late and they were often not pleased with the quality and colour consistency of printing. In the supplement category, shelf impact is huge – products need to look great. A bad label printing job can negatively impact sales.”

It was a big win for our client – not only did we print the labels for less cost, we raised the bar for quality. Previously the labels had a dull gold from printer’s ink; now the labels feature a true metallic gold for superior visual impact. What’s more, our client can now approve a hard copy proof before printing.

“The HealthZone self-adhesive labels feature metallic gold. They were printed on our Indigo label press on metallised paper using the Color Logic process. The client is thrilled with the quality and stoked to be using a New Zealand supplier for their label printing.”

What is Color Logic for metallic label printing?

There’s no doubt about it, metallic colours pop. We’re like magpies – shiny, glittery objects are attractive to us.

Using metallic effects on your labels, packaging and point-of-sale can result in higher sales and greater brand awareness. So when a cheaper way of printing stand-out metallic colours comes along, it’s time to get excited.

Color Logic is a system that enables digital printers to print onto metallic substrates, producing striking images and colours. We won’t bore you with exactly how it’s done, but it involves masking with white ink. If you want all the technical details, go to www.color-logic.com.

Need a gorgeous label print job?

Before you start designing, talk to Brian Landry about what can be achieved with Color Logic metallic printing. Email brianl@soarprint.co.nz or call (09) 302 9500.

Make-A-Wish used personalisation to reactivate lapsed donors

Make-A-Wish New Zealand makes wishes come true for Kiwi kids who are battling serious illnesses, like leukaemia, rheumatic fever, brain injury and cystic fibrosis. The organisation relies on fundraising, grants and donations to deliver a much-needed burst happiness to up to 200 children every year.

Recently Make-A-Wish partnered with Soar Print to produce a booklet that was geographically personalised to every area of New Zealand. Potential donors who received the book could see how Make-A-Wish was making a difference to the lives of sick children in their local community.

Personalisation of the booklet resulted in 8% of recipients moving from the ‘lapsed or dormant’ donor category to ‘active’. This was significantly higher than expected and it means Make-A-Wish will have the funds to make more wishes come true next year.

Personalised print with Oce VarioPrint i300

The booklet was printed on Soar’s new Océ VarioPrint i300, a specialised digital press that can print and finish books and booklets in a single press pass. Paper goes in one end; a complete book comes out the other. For personalisation, database files are fed into the press. In a single run every output can have different text and image change outs.

“A bonus of printing with the Océ VarioPrint i300 was that we could geographically personalise our message and advertise key events to the right communities. This was significant progress for us. Making the message more unique and tailored has come with great results”, says Pam Elgar, CEO of Make-A-Wish New Zealand.

In addition to personalisation benefits, printing books, manuals and catalogues with the i300 comes with money-saving ‘print on demand’ benefits. Read more about no-waste book lifecycle printing.

For advice about how to leverage your database to create more meaningful and effective printed collateral, talk to Stuart Shepherd at Soar Print – 021 630 954 or stuarts@soarprint.co.nz

Neuroscience says hard copy print beats digital in many ways

A few years ago, everyone was predicting the demise of the print industry. The future was looking more and more digital. But recent neuroscience studies have shown that print communication often eclipses electronic.

What happens inside the human brain isn’t as mysterious as it once was. Now there are ways of seeing whether messages are getting through, which makes it possible to measure the effectiveness of print versus digital.

Here are some fascinating findings:

Hard copy DM requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital media, suggesting that it’s easier to understand and more memorable. In a study by Canada Post, when participants were asked to name the brand of an advertisement they had just seen, recall was 70% higher among those who were exposed to a hard copy direct mail piece (75%) versus a digital ad (44%).[1]

Paper communications affect the desire centres of the brain. Paper advertising activates the ventral striatum area of the brain more than digital media. The ventral striatum is known to be an indicator of desire and valuation.[2]

Physical material is more ‘real’ to the brain. Hard copy is better connected to memory because it engages with the brain’s spatial memory networks. Physical material involves more emotional processing, which is important for brand associations. And physical materials produce more brain responses connected with internal feelings, suggesting greater effectiveness of the ads.[3]

Brains process words differently when they’re on paper. There's a significant amount of research that suggests our brains process a book differently if we read it in paper format versus a small screen. A Norwegian study concluded that "students who read texts in print scored significantly better on the reading comprehension test than students who read the texts digitally.” [4]

B to B communications are better in print. Paper has been shown to be more effective for communicating detailed information. A B2B sales effort often involves important documentation to ensure the customer needs are met. Providing this information in paper format can increase the customer's comprehension and recall.[5]

Have you moved away from print for some of your most important communications? Maybe it’s time to swing back. While digital can be great for some communications, neuroscience says the tactile nature of print is more likely to engage your customer’s brain.

To discuss your print requirements, talk to our Customer Service team on (09) 302 9100

Read another article about print effectiveness.

[1] Study sponsored by Canada Post and performed by Canadian neuromarketing firm TrueImpact.

[2] Temple University Study

[3] Bangor University Study

[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883035512001127

[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2015/09/16/paper-vs-digital/#7786ea8c33c3

No-waste printing to match the lifecycle of your publication

As every publisher knows, the lifecycle of a book begins with a boom and ends with a splutter. To avoid obsolescence, which means waste to recyclers and wasted money, print runs need to match each stage of the book lifecycle.

Soar’s MD Fred Soar recently presented at the PrintHow symposium in Tokyo. His focus was using digital print, specifically automated book printing with the Oce i300, to accurately match publishing supply to demand. Fred used a tertiary education example to make his point:

“Tertiary education providers have an ongoing need to print prospectuses and course materials, typically near the start of each semester. While history can help them to predict print runs, fluctuations in student numbers often lead to print obsolescence. For a budget-conscious organisation, sending books to the paper recyclers equals money down the drain. Just as bad is not having enough books to meet student needs, which can negatively impact the university’s brand.”

Soar Print recently invested in an Océ VarioPrint i300, a fully-automated digital press for books and other multi-page outputs. With this press, you can literally press one button and have a fully-formed book come out the other end. For smaller runs (1 to 3000), the i300 is a cost-effective way to get a high quality result. For the PrintHow symposium, Fred used an infographic to explain how the i300 makes it easy to match print runs to the lifecycle of a publication.

“This diagram shows that 1750 copies of a book are required by students during its lifecycle. This was carefully managed by starting off with a run of 750 and setting dynamic minimum stock levels that drop down over time. Reprints were produced 150 at a time, then 100, then 50. It meant they had virtually no obsolescence with the publication. What’s more, the artwork files can be easily modified before each reprint to include new information. Every reprint can essentially become an updated edition.”

This type of digital-only print management model is ideal for publishers who know they will need up to 3000 books, but can’t predict demand with pinpoint accuracy. For publications that will sell more than 3000 initially, combining a primary offset run with subsequent digital runs can be an ideal strategy for avoiding obsolesence.

If you regularly print prospectuses, course guides or catalogues that have a limited lifespan, Soar can help you to master the art of accurate print lifecycle management. Our experts can also design a lifecycle model for other types of publications – everything from poetry and art books to travel guides and text books.

Email Stuart Shepherd about printing for books and booklets stuarts@soarprint.co.nz

From Cape Reinga to Bluff, we print for all of NZ

You don’t have to be based in Auckland or Hamilton to work with Soar or our sister company Fusion Print. We have happy clients up and down the country, including all of the provincial centres.

Richard Davy, senior print consultant at Soar, has become a dab hand at handling long-distance relationships.

“Looking after clients who aren’t in Auckland or Hamilton is straightforward. We have a call or video teleconference, then the details of the job are confirmed by email. Proofing is easy to manage by email too. It’s no more complicated that dealing with a printer who’s just around the corner.”

For corporate clients based in provincial cities and the other main centres – Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Tauranga – Soar’s sustainability credentials are a drawcard.

“As more organisations and businesses define their sustainability policies, finding a print supplier who can provide CarboNZero^(CertTM) printing is becoming increasingly important. Soar’s sustainability credentials are unequalled in the New Zealand printing sector, so we are often asked to pitch by corporate or government print procurement teams that aren’t based in Auckland.”

The range of print work completed for nationwide clients is broad – everything from short run large-format pieces to high-volume offset promo material. In some cases, multiple outputs are printed for a single campaign.

“One of our newest out-of-town clients was quite nervous about using an Auckland printer for a campaign they were running throughout the country. We essentially became the guinea pigs for a new approach. When it was all done and dusted, their feedback to us was overwhelmingly positive. For print quality and logistics, it was one of their best campaigns ever.”

Nationwide customers are welcome to contact Richard Davy or Brian Landry to discuss requirements and print costs. Soar can even assist with print storage, pick and pack, inventory management and nationwide logistics. Call Richard Davy on (09) 302 9106 or email Brian Landry brianl@soarprint.co.nz.

Read more about Soar’s sustainability credentials.

Prototype first, graphic design second. Always!

There’s a right way and a wrong way to design the functional aspects of a product pack. We strongly recommend the right way – prototype first!

Paper engineering is an unforgiving art. Get it right and your product pack looks fantastic on the shelf and feels like premium quality in the customer’s hand. Mess it up and you get a wonky pack that doesn’t do your product justice.

So how do you make sure your pack’s going to look a million dollars when it’s printed and assembled? Prototype first, graphic design second. It’s a strategy that ensures your design and print budget is spent wisely.

Pack prototyping should happen before graphic design

In our experience, very few graphic designers are expert paper engineers. So we recommend you work with us to get the foundation right before you brief your designer to develop pack graphics. If you want your designer to have conceptual input before we develop prototypes, that’s easy. We’re great collaborators.

Our prototyping and mock up service gets the underlying engineering sorted on the correct stock before graphic design titivation begins. We can print outputs one at a time and assemble a perfect sample pack that you can put to the test. Once we have perfected the prototype, the graphic design process can begin.

Direct mailers deserve a prototype too

Don’t you love direct mailers with cut outs, fancy folds and fiddly bits? We do. We especially love them when they work perfectly; folding and popping out exactly as planned.

With decades of printing, die-cutting and finishing experience behind us, we know the pitfalls of fancy DM pieces. One of the biggest is a huge price. If you have a great idea, talk to us before you get too far down the design path. We can make sure you achieve the result you want for the smallest print cost.

Need a pack or direct mail prototype? Talk to Brian Landry on (09) 302 9500 or email brianl@soarprint.co.nz

Find out more about pack printing.

Read a case study about prototyping.

Three containers, eight engineers, one almighty printer!

Things have been fizzing at Fusion Print, Soar’s sister company in Hamilton. Earlier this year, Fusion took delivery of three containers full of state-of-the-art digital print technology – the Océ VarioPrint i300…unassembled. Then it was simply a matter of putting it together.

Shortly after the containers arrived, eight engineers from Holland, Australia and New Zealand arrived at Fusion to begin the assembly and deployment process. The crates had to be carefully unpacked and every component checked before installation could begin. From end-to-end, the process took five weeks. Graeme Foote, general manager at Fusion, says it was fascinating to watch.

“We created a time-lapse video of the install and it’s compulsive viewing. Watching this monster digital press come to life was extraordinary over five weeks, but it’s even more amazing when you watch the whole process in four minutes!”

The end result is a printer that’s 16 metres long and 2.6 metres tall – longer than the average city bus and nearly as high. Already it’s pulling its weight at Fusion. The press was available for duty from March 22^nd and has completed several multi-page print jobs.

“Fred Soar and I first saw the i300 on a business trip to Holland last year. We were impressed by its ability to produce exceptionally high-quality digital print outputs – sheets go in one end, and a fully-finished brochure or book pops out the other end.

“At the time we agreed that if Océ could ensure our machine would produce that quality, we’d be happy. As it turns out, the quality we’re getting is even better than what we saw in Holland – our i300 is over-delivering!”

So what’s so special about this multi-million-dollar machine? Quite a lot! The Océ VarioPrint i300 is a next-generation sheet-fed digital press that revolutionises the printing of multi-page outputs.

You can literally press one button and have a fully-formed book come out the other end of the press.
Every output can be different, because the press accepts variable data. For example, you can print a personalised brochure or catalogue for a high-value customer, changing out text and images wherever you like.
For small runs (1 to 2000) it’s a cost-effective way to get a high quality result.
The i300 can fold and stitch (staple) a book in a way that creates a square spine up to 10mm wide – up to 180 pages plus a cover. Your get a perfect bound book, but without the high price that usually comes with perfect binding.

Talk to Graeme Foote about printing with the Océ VarioPrint i300 – call 027 2959224 or email graeme@fusionprint.co.nz

Watch the time lapse video of installation.

Calculating for carbon zero printing: how’s it done?

As more businesses and organisations recognise the value of shrinking their carbon footprint, the demand for carbon zero printing is increasing. At Soar, the job of calculating and offsetting carbon emissions connected to print jobs belongs to Jenny Carter.

French researchers studying Pacific coral reefs have warned that limits proposed in the Paris Agreement won't be enough to save them.

To establish the carbon emissions associated with a print job, Jenny uses a spreadsheet provided by Landcare Research, the crown organisation that manages the carbon footprint scheme known as carboNZero^(CertTM). Soar is the only printing company in New Zealand certified to offer carbon zero services and products under this scheme, which exceeds international standards and best practice for a carbon programme.

Jenny calculates the carbon inputs associated with paper, waste, finishing, transport and the electricity used by the printing technology. Once the carbon footprint of the print job is known, offsets can be purchased. Soar chooses to buy carbon offsets from New Zealand providers, such as forest regeneration schemes and windfarms. They cost more than some overseas schemes, but the benefits to New Zealand are greater.

“Digital printing usually comes with a smaller carbon footprint than conventional printing because it doesn’t require metal plates and there’s less paper waste during setup. And some digital presses are better than others. The revolutionary new press we’re about to launch for multi-page printing is more energy efficient than other digital presses, plus it lets you avoid wiro binding. When a booklet is wiro bound, it has a bigger carbon footprint that a stapled booklet”, says Jenny.

How to get the CarboNZero logo on your next print job

For any print job, Soar can offer CarboNZero ‘printing as a service’. It means the printed product’s carbon impact is measured and offset, with the exception of emissions associated with preparation of the artwork.

For simple print jobs where the artwork is created in-house at Soar Studio, Soar can offer CarboNZero ‘printing as a product’. It means the entire carbon impact of the printed product is measured and offset. This includes editorial emissions, which are the emissions generated by graphic design. Measuring the emissions associated with photography can be challenging, especially in the case of library photos, but not impossible.

According to NASA, the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate of 9% per decade.

Need evidence that reducing carbon is important?

In case you need proof that reducing carbon emissions is necessary, Soar’s newest calendar delivers a few sobering facts as well as some hopeful messages.

This calendar has been produced as a carboNZero certified service printed service in association with Enviro-Mark Solutions. Its carbon footprint is just under 1kg per calendar and these emissions have been offset with New Zealand carbon credits from schemes like the Hinewai Forest regeneration project.

The concept of this regeneration project is to increase the area of native forest on private land in New Zealand, while providing an income for landowners. This will reduce New Zealand's net greenhouse gas emissions, support native biodiversity, reduce soil erosion and improve catchment water quality.

The Te Apiti wind farm in Manawatu is a New Zealand carbon offset project.

If you’d like a copy of Soar’s new calendar, email reception@soarprint.co.nz

Read about Soar’s sustainability credentials.

Find out about a typical New Zealand carbon offset programme.

French researchers studying Pacific coral reefs have warned that limits proposed in the Paris Agreement won't be enough to save them.

New guide celebrates the best of NZ’s art publications

New Zealand’s art publications will finally be getting the recognition they deserve with the launch of Off The Press: The Art Book Directory. Artists and publishers from around the country are invited to submit their latest books, monographs and catalogues for the free guide, which will be available nationwide.

Helping shine a light on New Zealand’s arts community

With many art books in New Zealand being difficult to find and buy, the project will shine a light on these specialist titles – online and offline. The guide will curate over 50 recently published works and is a labour of love for Soar Print’s Stuart Shepherd.

“Most of the arts publications in New Zealand are printed in very short runs which makes it a challenge for people to find the publications created by our arts community,” said Stuart. “With only a few specialist booksellers remaining in this country, and little in the way of an online presence, there’s a real need for a guide like Off The Press to catalogue these works.”

Off The Press will be edited and designed by Katie Kerr, a graphic designer and co-founder of GLORIA and Strange Events.

“Arts publications tend to be carefully-crafted objects, and often experimental in both editorial and design,” said Katie. “Without a better platform for national exposure, there is a real possibility of this alternative realm of publishing disappearing in New Zealand. Through Off the Press, we hope to champion both the publishers and the books, showcasing a diverse body of thought relating to art, design, theory and practice – while also exhibiting the creative powers of New Zealand's specialist bookmakers.”

Ensuring arts publications can be found offline and online

Soar Print’s Partica digital publishing technology will be put to good use to create a free mobile edition for Off The Press. The guide will also have digital and print ISBN numbers, ensuring every publication included will be a full searchable database recorded offline and online.

Where you’ll find Off The Press

The first edition of the semi-annual publication will be launched at Artweek Auckland in October 2018. Copies will be distributed to selected independent booksellers, galleries, museums, tertiary education institutions and participating publishers and artists.

It also marks the first series of occasional publications, guides and directories by Soar Print in support of New Zealand’s arts community.

Keen to submit your arts publication?

Submissions are now being accepted for Off The Press: The Art Book Directory. Spaces are limited to recent and upcoming publications and will be accepted on the approval of the guide’s editorial team:

How Doc Edge sharpened up their printing spend

Soar’s holistic view of the print process has delivered some serious benefits for the organisers of the Doc Edge Festival, starting with making their marketing budget go (a lot) further.

Now in its 13th year, the Doc Edge Festival features more than 70 stunning films from around the globe, covering everything from pop culture to politics. Printed materials are key to promoting the events and driving ticket sales.

Soar is a long-standing sponsor of the festival and this year our team saw we could make an even bigger impact by assessing the entire process for their promotional collateral. The results of our review were reduced costs, improved efficiency, superb quality and greater reach to maximise ticket sales.

How Soar helped the Doc Edge Festival

Stuart Shepherd led our team in making some simple changes that made a big difference for Doc Edge. “It started with adjusting the size of one of the key printed materials – the programme – into a mini book. It saved cost and gives a far bigger impact.”

Mailouts are an essential part of the promo programme. This year, our team transformed the program distribution via a custom printed envelope that turned a labour-intensive process into a slick, automated mail-ready solution. What’s more, it achieved a discounted rate by meeting NZ Post’s stringent SOA standards. We’re also a familiar face at Bauer Media Group, making it easy to print and insert a leaflet into a number of their magazines.

Transforming a programme booklet into online ticket sales

Doc Edge’s 64-page programme is one of the key printed materials for the festival. Using Soar’s direct-to-mobile digital publishing platform, Partica, this once offline-only document is now also an online resource. It contains over 100 links for people to book their tickets on the spot using their mobile device.

Book your tickets for Doc Edge now

With tickets selling fast for the festival, don’t miss your chance to see some of the best local and international documentaries. Check out the range on offer (and try out Partica) using the online programme.

To learn more about Partica, Soar’s direct-to-mobile digital publishing platform, contact Stuart Shepherd on 021 630 954.

Why do we enter awards? It’s about benchmarking

Soar has been in the print business for nearly 100 years, so we know a bit about business survival. Through depressions, boom times and financial crises, one strategy has held us together – our commitment to print quality. Entering the Pride in Print Awards every year is how we make sure that commitment runs deep.

Benchmarking ourselves against the best printing companies in New Zealand takes nerves of steel; some years we do better than others. But even if our award haul is lighter that we’d like, we’ve never been tempted to give up the chase. As sports coach Vince Lombardi once said: “Winners never quit and quitters never win”.

This year has been a good one for us at the Pride in Print Awards. We’ve scored a total of six golds and 13 almost-golds (Highly Commended). We’re particularly happy to have gained two golds for our work with BLACK magazine, a global publication that lives at the sharpest end of fashion.

In fact, if you look at the list of golds below you’ll notice that we won three awards for publications, which is a growth area for Soar – especially now that we have New Zealand’s only Océ i300 VarioPrint automated book printing solution (more about that soon!).

Another highlight was the gold for Zealong tea labels, achieved by our digital-only offshoot Rocket Print. We didn’t print just one label for Zealong; we printed 12 variations – every one of them had to be perfect.

Gold awards

Client/Project	Category
BLACK magazine	Promotional Print
BLACK magazine	Publications
WMG Smart Move	Promotional Print
Bitter Fruit photography book	Publications
Leasing magazine	Publications
Zealong Tea labels (12 varieties)	Labels

Highly Commended

Client/Project	Category
Korda Mentha business cards	Business Print
University of Auckland donors annual report	Business Print
Phoenix Organic Energy	Labels
Paper Wrap	Promotional Print
SkyCity What’s On Guide (Z-Card & postcard)	Promotional Print
Huntley & Palmers food catalogue	Publications
Jo Malone Christmas catalogue	Publications
Dining with the Vikings 1	Specialty Products
Dining with the Vikings 2	Specialty Products
W-Freeman pad	Specialty Products
Chai Guy Chocolate flow-wrap	Packaging

Soar Managing Director Fred Soar wears the gold awarded to Rocket Print for Zealong Tea labels.

Soar Arts & Digital Media specialist Stuart Shepherd wears one of the two golds awarded for BLACK magazine.

Soar General Manager Brian Landry wears the gold awarded for WMG Smart Move.

Read more about Soar’s commitment to quality.

Free Techweek workshop about turning print into web apps

We’re running a Techweek workshop to show you how Realview's Partica seamlessly turns print PDFs into web content. You’ll also find out about the new syndication marketplace it makes possible.

The workshop will be introduced and moderated by Russell Brown, esteemed digital journalism innovator and founding board member of the Digital Media Trust. He’ll be supported by Realview CEO Richard Lindley and Soar’s own print-to-digital specialist, Stuart Shepherd. There are only 60 places available, so be quick!

Workshop: Partica: seamless print-to-web publishing and syndication

Where: The GridAKL, 12 Madden Street

When: Wednesday 23 May

Time: 2pm to 3pm

Register online now

More about Techweek

Introduction to the Partica workshop

Publishers are sitting on huge quantities of evergreen content – locked up in PDFs that have never been seen online. What if there was a simple, cost-effective way to find, extract, organise and monetise that content? There is. Welcome to Partica by Realview Technologies.

Partica's direct-to-mobile digital publishing platform instantly closes the gap between print and digital, transforming your PDFs into articles and delivering them to mobile, tablet, and desktop. Its unique AI-driven search and discovery engine finds, sorts and reports existing digital content from PDFs (or from a website, CMS or RSS feed).

Those capabilities underpin a new business platform: Partica Content Marketplace. Think of it as like a stock image library, only for articles. Partica Content Marketplace is a working syndication platform that brings together publishers, writers and customers in a world that's crying out for content.

TARGET AUDIENCE

People and businesses with new and legacy content to sell, plus businesses that need easy, effective and transparent access to high-quality content for digital publication.

Get a colour-perfect campaign, from wobblers to wall murals

Old-school print management thinking involved using a different printing supplier for every type of output, based on specialisations. The risk of colour reproduction differing widely across the campaign was high.

At Soar we don’t do old school. Because we have all the necessary print specialisations in-house, our customers can have every element of a campaign printed by us. The benefits are massive:

Superb colour-management. We use our world-class colour management system to ensure that every output – from pack labels and wobblers to trade presenters and recipe leaflets – looks like it belongs to your brand family. Technically speaking, that means we utilise the Heidelberg Prinect Image Control centre and PrinectColor Toolbox to meet ISO 12647-2 colour management standards.
Kitting and logistics. Once all your campaign elements have been printed, we can compile kits and dispatch them to any location in New Zealand. Material that isn’t required straight away can be stored at our print warehouse, which uses barcode technology for deadly-accurate pick and packing.
Cost benefits. When you choose Soar for every printed element of a campaign, you can expect some sharp pricing. Our cost-efficiency is backed by nearly 100 years of printing experience and we can offer a true print-on-demand service. In fact, because of our processes and systems, we can actually help you to reduce your print requirements. Read about print quotes with ‘secret sauce’.
Simplicity. You always know who to contact about your print work. There’s no thinking twice. Just call or email your Soar account manager.
Out of the ordinary. If your campaign includes an element that we can’t print in house, such as a customised pen or screen-printed tee shirt, we have a network of trusted partners on hand. In these situations, we handle everything, including ensuring their colour standards match ours. It’ll still feel like you only have one printer.

“The Soar team went above and beyond to deliver my short run, fast turnaround and quite tricky job - with great results, great feedback from my team and also a sharp price. I'd recommend giving Soar a go for any printing task and let them show off their skills.” John Alexander, Frucor

Is there a campaign on your horizon? Would you like to ensure a better-quality and less stressful result? Call Brian Landry on (09) 302 9500 or email brianl@soarprint.co.nz

Read more about printing for manufacturers.

Why did Techweek '18 want carbon neutral printing?

Soar is the only New Zealand company offering carboNZero^(CertTM) printed products, which is why Techweek chose us as their preferred printer. As a nationwide festival that’s all about innovation, Techweek recognises the growing importance of sustainable print practices.

Techweek started in 2012 as Tech Innovation Week. It’s evolved significantly since then and is now New Zealand’s leading celebration of new technologies. The purpose of Techweek is to nurture the growth of New Zealand’s technology and innovation sectors by providing a week-long nationwide calendar of events that encourage innovators to connect and cross-pollinate. This year events run from 19 to 27 May.

As official printer for Techweek, Soar produced sets of flyers, posters and information packs that were distributed throughout New Zealand. Every item printed was carbon neutral and the scope of work included compiling sets of materials for each location, then organising delivery.

“The theme for Techweek’18 is ‘innovation that’s good for the world’ and we really wanted to live and breathe that as an organisation. That meant we were actively searching for sustainable methods to tell New Zealanders about the festival programme for 2018”, says Courteney Peters, Marketing Manager for Techweek.

“Our carbon zero partnership with Soar Print was exactly what we wanted. It means we can get on with the job of telling people about New Zealand innovation success stories, safe in the knowledge that we’re also doing our bit to minimise the environmental impact of our collateral.”

What is carbon neutral printing?

Soar has environmental policies and accreditations that no other printer in New Zealand can match, including the ability to print certified carbon neutral printed products that live up to the PAS 2050[1] life-cycle standard.

Carbon neutral printing means that all greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the print production and the used materials (paper, energy, ink) are calculated and compensated for through carbon offset projects.

What happens at Techweek?

Techweek events come in all shapes and sizes. There are visits to research labs, IoT tours, art exhibitions, networking get-togethers, open days at tertiary education providers, ideation workshops, lectures, conferences and much, much more. There’s even a session called ‘Hogwarts of GIS and Web Mapping: Build your own Web Map’.

How can you get involved?

If your business is a get-ahead kind of enterprise, Techweek offers two valuable opportunities: You can attend events or you can exhibit at an event. Or both! Find out more about Techweek.Are you interested in switching to certified carbon neutral products to support your sustainability policies? Call Stuart Shepherd on 021 630 954 or email stuarts@soarprint.co.nz

7 print trends to amplify your communications in 2018

Surrounded as we are by printing presses, print artwork and print outputs, it’s easy to keep a finger on the pulse of the industry. Here’s a quick distillation of print trends for the year ahead. Caution: Reading these could seriously impact your marketing – in a good way!

Less offset, more digital

As digital printing presses get faster and cheaper to run, offset print volumes are falling. Digital print can be produced quickly, because set-up is fast and there’s no platemaking required. Time savings result in price reductions, making digital printing a cost-effective solution, even for biggish jobs. Better still, digital lets you print only what you need, preventing inventory obsolescence.

More print personalisation

You probably noticed the personalised Coca Cola ad campaign that ran a couple of years ago. It’s still going actually – you can go online and order personalised glass bottles of Coke. This kind of promotional gimmick is easier than ever with data-fed digital label presses – we have a couple of these at Soar.

Direct mail is becoming really meaningful

To make sure direct mail delivers results, marketers are creating more engaging and personalised campaigns. Printed pieces that change out names, chunks of text and images based on customer data can lift average response rates by 300%[1]. Talk to us about how it’s done.

Soft signage gets attention

Signs don’t have to be rigid. They can be printed on textile and fabric-based substrates. You can have branded banners, flags, tablecloths and point of purchase draperies. Our flat-bed large format printers can print on darn near anything.

Combining print with digital

Print and digital marketing don’t have to be enemies. They can collaborate to produce campaigns that work twice as hard. When you print a multi-page magazine, catalogue or brochure with Soar, you can ask us to turn it into a responsive phone app using Realview technology. We can even print QR codes that make app installation easier.

Extra texture at your fingertips

Studies have shown that haptic (touch) memory has a strong impact on the human brain. When we feel something, it reaches us on a deeper level. So if you choose a textured stock or add textured embellishment to a printed item, you’re helping your communication to work harder. Talk to us about embossing, debossing, raised ink and special stocks – it’s less costly that you think.

Matte rules over gloss

To be truly upmarket, glossy magazines need to become matte. Matte whispers luxury far louder than shiny. There are a few ways to achieve the perfect matte finish, including matte stock and matte over-gloss.

Need something printed? Check out our specialties.

Want a print quote right now? Call (09) 302 9100

[1] https://www.dpidirect.com/trends-in-printing-for-2018/

Soar Print's magazine guy: Stuart Shepherd

Our resident magazine expert is Stuart Shepherd, who knows fashion and arts publishing from cover to cover. He understands how paper weight and texture can influence sales and how careful use of embellishment (such as die-cutting or spot UV) can capture the attention of magazine buyers. Stuart can also help publishers carefully choose environmentally-accredited services from Soar Print, such as carboNZero^(CertTM), FSC and PEFC.

Stuart arrived at Soar Print in 2016, bringing with him a special focus on the arts, publishing and digital media. He has nearly 30 years’ experience in magazine and book publishing in New Zealand and internationally, as well as a wealth of knowledge in design arts marketing Stuart pioneered many specialist magazine and design book-related business ventures in New Zealand, including Propaganda Arts Distribution and Magazzino.

Talk short and long-run magazine printing with Stuart Shepherd on 021 630 954.

Soar wins Two Islands product label printing by digging deeper

When artisan food company Two Islands requested a quote for label printing from Soar, they got much more than a costing. Our label specialist Chris Agius went above and beyond to liaise with the product packing company and identify cost-saving alternatives.

Owned and operated by sisters – Julia and Libby Matthews - Two Islands produces a premium protein powder based on pea protein. It tastes great and is aimed at a niche market that wants a soy-free vegan protein source for smoothies. Demand for Two Islands’ protein is increasing daily, as the company’s social media campaigns spread through the health-conscious market.

On the lookout for a new label printer

Julia and Libby approached Soar about label printing after a less-than-perfect experience with another printer. While they knew a lot about producing premium lifestyle food products, their knowledge of label printing and application was light. This situation was soon remedied by Soar’s digital label specialist Chris Agius.

“Before we put a costing together for Two Islands, we consulted with the company doing their product filling and labelling. They confirmed the best sizes for the pack labels, as well as roll direction for the printing output”, says Chris.

Roll direction refers to how the label needs to be positioned on the roll for successful application. It’s not relevant for labels that are applied by hand, but it’s crucial for labels applied by machine.

Technically-correct colour-matched labels

“Doing this background work allowed us to present Two Islands with cost-saving alternative approaches to label printing, as well as technical assurance that Soar’s printed outputs would work perfectly for the pack filling company. We were also able to offer accurate colour matching to their brand palette, using our proven process for ensuring FOGRA 29 ISO colour consistency standards.”

Two Islands awarded the printing project to Soar and labels were swiftly printed on a synthetic substrate and finished with a matte laminate. The labelled pack looks every bit as premium as the protein powder within.

More about label printing.

Read a case study about label printing.

Triumphs, Twists and Tasty Treats – buy it now!

Storybooks for children in hospital, full of stories written by Kiwi kids and illustrated by famous New Zealanders – it’s a win, win, win! By purchasing a book for just $20, you can help to keep this fantastic reading programme going.

Soar Print has been involved with Barfoot & Thompson’s Magic of Reading programme for two years. Every year the scheme produces a hard-to-put-down book of fantastic original stories written by school kids from Auckland and Northland. The books sell for $20 and the proceeds go to the Starship Foundation, so that they can put a storybook into the hands of every child who stays overnight in Starship Hospital or Whangarei Hospital’s children’s ward.

Linked to the programme is the Barfoot & Thompson Young Authors Challenge, which provides the raw material for the book. Every year, primary and intermediate students from all over Auckland and Whangarei are given the opportunity to write a short story and submit it to a judging panel. The best stories are chosen for the next Magic of Reading storybook, turning the students into published authors.

Buy a Starship story book and encourage reading

The latest book in the Magic of Reading series is ‘Triumphs, Twists and Tasty Treats’, which includes a rollicking tale of how to get freshly-baked cookies out of Grenade Granny’s Holy Cookie Jar.

If there are keen young readers in your family, or you have grandchildren who like bedtime stories, this story and nine others will keep everyone giggling. The stories are humorously illustrated by Kiwi celebrities, including Keven Mealamu, artist Otis Frizzell and fashion designer Kiri Nathan. Buy the book online now.

10^th anniversary 'The Magic of Reading' compendium

2017 was the programme’s 10^th year, a grand occasion marked by the production of a linen-bound compendium of all the storybooks produced so far. Along with providing charity-rate printing for the latest book in the series, Soar printed and assembled the compendium case.

Find out more about printing for books and magazines.

See a case study about case bound book printing.

Contact Natalie Graham at Soar about book printing.

What smart people are doing for their skin this summer

More than 4000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with either melanoma in situ or invasive melanoma every year – that’s around 13 every day. Once it penetrates your skin by more than 2mm, it can quickly spread to other parts of your body.

New Zealand’s melanoma incidence rate is the world’s highest. We’ve pushed Australia off the top position. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, we have higher levels of UV here; secondly, a lot of us are from northern European extraction, i.e. naturally pale people; thirdly, we love being outside. When all of these factors come together, it’s a perfect storm for melanoma.

Soar Print has been a supporter of Melanoma New Zealand for many years. Our managing director Fred used to be their chairperson and he’s still on the board. What’s more, a member of our team is currently battling melanoma. We’ve all got our fingers crossed for him.

We don’t want you to get melanoma, so here are our best tips for prevention. We’ve checked these with Melanoma New Zealand, so you can trust us on this.

1. Choose SPF 30 (or more) broad spectrum

There’s been some controversy about SPF ratings recently. Some products aren’t living up to their labels. Consumer New Zealand did some testing and came up with a guide to help you make good choices. They recommend broad spectrum, because that’s the only way to screen both UVA and UVB.

2. Use the teaspoon rule for application

You don’t want to be frugal with sunscreen. For proper protection, you need to use enough. Think in teaspoons. One teaspoon for your head and neck, one teaspoon for each limb, one teaspoon for your front and another for your back. All up, seven teaspoons of sunscreen will be required when you’re wearing your tiniest togs.

3. Check the expiry date on your sun products

Sunscreen loses its effectiveness with age, so check the expiry date on your products before you take them to the beach.

4. Take some shade to the beach

It’s hard to find an unoccupied pohutukawa tree during the height of summer, so pack sun umbrellas or set up a beach shelter. While you can’t avoid direct sun while you’re swimming, at other times you should gravitate to the shade.

5. Fake your tan

Being a bronzed god or goddess is easy these days. Fake it. There are some excellent moisturisers around now with a tanning component. They’re better than a real tan because they’re not likely to kill you. Never ever use a sun bed - it has the potential to increase your risk of melanoma by 75%!

6. Apply the Ugly Duckling rule to existing moles

The idea behind the Ugly Duckling rule is that you compare your moles with each other. If any mole stands out or looks different to other moles, it is an ugly duckling that should be checked by a doctor.

7. Visit Melanoma New Zealand’s site

In addition to sunscreen, hats, clothing and shade, Melanoma New Zealand’s prevention guide is a mighty weapon against skin cancer. Go there and read up.

Read about Soar’s other community sponsorships.

Visit Melanoma New Zealand’s website.

Read about Consumer’s sunscreen research.

Magazines for your hands and your smartphone

In the realm of magazine printing companies, Soar is really getting noticed. As well as traditional hard copies, our magazine printing services include the creation of smartphone-friendly digital editions.

BRITOMART magazine

With more than 21 issues published, Britomart is a magazine that’s much loved by its high-spending audience. Showcasing fashion, food and captivating local stories, it’s produced twice a year on behalf of the businesses that are based in the Britomart precinct of downtown Auckland. It’s printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) paper and qualifies for Soar’s carboNZero^(CertTM) service.

In addition to printing copies, which are distributed and given away in the Britomart stores, Soar produces Britomart magazine as a digital mobile edition that’s distributed by text message.

BLACK magazine

Soar is proud to print BLACK, arguably New Zealand’s coolest magazine. Founded by Grant Fell and Rachael Churchward in 2006, this internationally-acclaimed fashion magazine is created by teams of contributors from New Zealand, Australia, New York, London and Paris. It’s published twice a year in hard copy and as a dynamic Realview smartphone app.

What is Realview?

Soar’s Realview service turns magazines and newsletters into mobile-friendly digital editions and smartphone screen apps. It means you can push your publication out to a wider audience and engage them online. It’s great for customer acquisition and to lift readership of your publication.

Our magazine guy

Are you interested in high-end or low cost magazine printing?

Talk to Stuart Shepherd on 021 630 954 or email stuarts@soarprint.co.nz

Proud to be the just-in-time print shop for My Food Bag

On so many levels, we’re proud to be the print company for My Food Bag. Recently they picked up another two gongs at the Westpac Business Awards in Central Auckland, including the Supreme Award.

The Soar team were cheering loudly when My Food Bag won the Excellence in Customer Service Delivery category at the Central Auckland Westpac Business Awards for 2017. And when they claimed the Supreme Business Excellence Award, we cheered even louder.

It was also great to see MOTAT (Museum of Transport & Technology) take out the Excellence in Marketing category, which was sponsored by us.

Why are business awards important?

We believe business awards are important for two reasons. First up, they give businesses proof of excellence, which helps with marketing. Secondly, they feed the competitive environment that drives business improvement. Of all the business excellence recognition programmes in New Zealand, the Westpac Business Awards carry the most weight.

We've been with MFB since the beginning

Our relationship with My Food Bag goes right back to the very first bags they ever produced. The labels, flyers and recipe cards we print every week are as fresh as the food ingredients inside every bag, because we provide ‘just in time’ printing services. Artwork is routinely received just one or two days before printing.

Here are the other amazing companies that won awards on the night:

Ricoh New Zealand, Employer of the Year
Crimson Education, Excellence in Innovation
Milk New Zealand, Excellence in International Trade
WOOP, Best Emerging Business
The Career Academy, Excellence in Strategy and Planning

Find out more about label printing or brochure printing.

Printing the Great Wall of Emirates

Auckland Airport is an ever-growing facility, fuelled by NZ’s consistent ranking in Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Countries list. While builders are busy behind the scenes, temporary walls provide a barrier between the construction action and passengers.

The Emirates Lounge at Auckland International Airport is the latest space to go into expansion mode. As with most airport facilities, it has to go through the rebuild process while still presenting a calm, on-brand face to lounge guests. To this end, Emirates called Soar Print. Large format digital printing expert Richard Davy explains:

“Emirates needed to cover their temporary construction wall with on-brand imagery, so that their lounge would still look good during the rebuild. However time was not on their side – we had a super-tight deadline, which was complicated by the fact that our people had to go through airport security, just like departing passengers, every time they went to the site!”

The ‘Great Wall of Emirates’, which is 27 metres long and 3 metres high, is wallpapered with a laminated vinyl photo mural printed at Soar’s plant in New North Road. The process included application of a matte laminate, to ensure the finished result looks sleek and sophisticated.

“After measuring up with the architect, we had four days to print and install the mural. But before we could start printing, the artwork files had to be approved and sent to us by Emirates head office in the UAE. It was a nail biter.”

While Soar’s large format digital presses can print widths of 1600mm and 2500mm, and lengths that are limited only by the substrate roll, the mural was produced in sections that could be easily handled. Installations of this size can be tricky because each piece has to be carefully applied without stretch to ensure accurate image match up.

Read another story about large format printing.

If you have a photo-mural project, temporary or permanent, talk to Richard Davy at Soar Print on (09) 302 9106.

Bringing Gisborne's Electric Village to life

If you’re in Gisborne this summer, plug into the Electric Village. It’s a community hub for information about solar power and other emerging energy technologies. Printing for the exhibits was handled by Soar.

For this public display project, situated in a historic building near the harbour, Soar’s large format digital specialist Richard Davy had to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Actually, several rabbits. He had only three weeks to manufacture all the exhibits, followed by just three and a half days for installation.

“Rees Morley of Morley Design Group did the design for the fit out, then we pulled out all the stops to make it happen. It was a high-pressure situation, because the deadline was so tight, but we got there.”

Conceived by the Eastland Group, the Electric Village is a ‘one-stop-shop’ for energy ideas and advice. Its interactive exhibits present important information about the past, present and future of energy technology. Electric bikes and vehicles are a highlight of the exhibition, because Gisborne has a historical connection to New Zealand’s first electric vehicle.

Way back in 1909, Gisborne mayor William Douglas Lysnar travelled to the USA to meet Thomas Edison, inventor of the world’s first commercial electric light bulb and a range of ground-breaking electric vehicles. Convinced that electric vehicles were the way of the future, Mr Lysnar brought an electric car back to Gisborne as a present for his wife.

At the official opening of the Electric Village, guests were thoroughly wowed by the exhibits. It’s hoped the village will inspire greater uptake of sustainable transport options by Gisborne’s residents.

“The exhibits look amazing and we’ve had such positive feedback already”, said Alice Pettigrew of the Eastland Group.

Soar was a natural fit for this project, because we have achieved more sustainability accreditations than any other printer in New Zealand.

Six print tips to take the silly out of the season

WIN! $200 Christmas Hamper

Order Christmas-related print before 5pm Wednesday 6 December and you'll go into the draw to win a hamper of Christmas goodies to the value of $200.

The Christmas holiday countdown has started and you probably have a list of printing tasks to get sorted before the end of the year. We’re here to help you through the silly season with some seriously good print tips.

Get your ‘tinsel’ jobs underway now

Do you want to send a branded Christmas card to clients? Or maybe you’re thinking of a Christmas-related print giveaway, such as peel-off gift tags, sheets of gift wrap or an advent calendar? The sooner you see us about these tasks, the better you’ll feel. If you need ideas and artwork before you can go to print, Soar Studio is at your service.

Brighten up your foyer for the New Year

LFD (large format digital) print is our latest specialty. We can print branded vinyl wallpaper to give your reception area, meeting rooms and offices an eye-catching point of difference. It hangs like wallpaper and can be anything you want it to be, from your company name and philosophy to a verdant rainforest or sunny beach scene.

Give your brand a boost with printed vehicle wraps

Vehicle wraps have become the best-practice way to brand your vehicle fleet. Not only can you cover an entire vehicle easily with show-stopping graphics, but the paintwork beneath gets a layer of protection.

Put an inspiring printed desk pad in front of your people

When everyone arrives back at work after the summer holidays, get them off to a great start with a desk planner pad that encourages productivity. By this we mean more than a calendar with space for notes. For example, you can have areas for ‘today’s top 5 priorities, ‘my ideas for saving time’, ‘this week’s goal’, ‘doodle space’, ‘why I’m wonderful’, ‘what I can do better’ and ‘quote of the day’. Have a think-tank with your creative agency, then get us to print the result.

Get your health and safety signage sorted

Safety signage in the workplace is mandatory, but running something off on the copier isn’t going to do it. To ensure compliance with Health and Safety NZ requirements, you need properly designed permanent multi-message signs. We can help with that.

Check your stationery inventory, then order now

Leading up to Christmas, things get pretty busy in our print shop. We’ll always do our best to pull a rabbit out of the hat for you, but pre-planning is the only way to be sure you’ll have stationery supplies stocked up for the New Year. To make this super simple, consider moving to online print ordering. Our customer service team can tell you all about it.

See all the things we can print.

For pre-Christmas and New Year printing, call Soar’s customer service team now on (09) 302 9100.

Soar Print named a finalist at NZ Innovation Awards

At Soar Print, we are always focused on offering our clients top-quality printing. Our commitment to continuous innovation is matched by exceptional customer service.

We are thrilled to have our efforts recognised with the announcement of our place as a finalist in the 2017 New Zealand Innovation Awards.

Our category of ‘Innovation in Systems & Performance Improvement’ sees us being in great company, with the likes of Fonterra Co-operative Group.

As Soar director Jenny Carter says, “Our entry, ‘100 years of evolution through innovation’, looks at how we have adapted and evolved into a thriving business in a sunset industry, through innovation around lean manufacturing, new technologies, efficient work practices and becoming an industry leader in sustainability.”

Being named a New Zealand Innovation Awards finalist is the latest in a long list of honours for Soar Print – including our recent win at the inaugural Enviro-Mark Solutions Awards.

The New Zealand Innovation Award winners will be announced at a ceremony on 19 October. We’re counting down the days!

Learn more about our awards for printing excellence.

Congratulations to the team at Green Meadows Beef!

Green Meadows Beef have just been announced as finalists at the NZ Food Awards in the Artisan Producer category. One of the sections of the judging was packaging. That's where the team at Soar Print worked their magic.

Under one roof, Soar can turn a packaging concept into printed reality. And, as Green Meadows Beef found out recently, we love a challenge.

Nick Carey of Green Meadows Beef came to us with a packaging problem. He needed a moisture-resistant cardboard outer for beef patties that would stand up and display itself nicely in the supermarket meat chiller.

“Our designer came up with a great packaging option, but it needed finessing to become a reality”, said Nick.

Always keen to embrace a puzzle, Soar’s packaging experts roped in their ‘knife guy’ to see what could be done. After various experiments and a couple of prototypes, they identified a cost-effective solution that did what it was supposed to do.

“We’re used to printing sleeves for chiller products, but this package required a foot as well, so that it stands up. By adjusting the design to make the outer lock together properly, we were able to make the package concept work. Plus we were able to avoid hand gluing, to make assembly faster”, said Brian Landry, who headed up the Soar team for this project.

The product, which is a beetroot and beef burger pattie made to a recipe devised by Michael Van de Elzen, is available in selected supermarkets and gourmet food stores. It’s the first of a whole range of artisan beef products, released with Van de Elzen’s ‘good from scratch’ quality mark.

Nick Carey is delighted with the result. “The team at Soar took our design concept apart and found a way to make it cost-effective and easy to assemble. Plus it still had the look and feel of the original concept.”

Learn more about Soar Print's packaging and labels expertise

Soar Print wins at inaugural Enviro-Mark Solutions awards

The first-ever Enviro-Mark Solutions awards were announced last week and Soar Print was a category winner in the ‘medium organisation’ division. We’re thrilled to receive this recognition and hope it will inspire other businesses to reduce their carbon emissions.

Soar directors Jenny Carter and Vicky Soar attended the awards, which focus on the environmental achievements of Enviro-mark members

“It was great news to hear that we were up for an award. To be eligible in our category, you had to have reduced your carbon emissions by more than 20% and been in the programme for a particular length of time. Enviro-Mark set the standard, so this is a significant achievement for Soar Print”, says Jenny.

In total, award winners achieved a net reduction of 10,385 tonnes of carbon over the past year – that’s the equivalent of driving from Cape Reinga to Bluff more than 20,000 times, flying from Auckland to London more than 1300 times or burning 5000 tonnes of coal.

Proud to be a carbon neutral New Zealand print company

Soar Print has been part of Enviro-Mark Solutions’ carboNZero^(CertTM) since 2009. When we embarked on our carbon neutral journey, our reported organisational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 396 tonnes. We set a goal to reduce them by 15% within six years. In 2015 our GHG emissions were 256 tonnes - a reduction of 35%, and last year our estimated emissions were 167 tonnes - another reduction of 35%. This was helped along by our move to Ecotricity, New Zealand’s only carboNZero certified, 100% renewable electricity provider.

Soar was the first corporate printing company to achieve CarboNZero certification for company operations. We are also the only printer in NZ to offer carboNZero certification for printed products and print services.

In our category at the awards, the overall winner was one of our clients – Auckland Museum. Professor David Gaimster, current director of the museum, says sustainability is a core objective for the organisation’s 20-year strategy.

“We set ambitious sustainability goals back in 2010 and were proud to have reduced our carbon emissions by 50% just three years later. Becoming more efficient and by using renewable energy, via our solar panels on the roof, nearly 1000 tonnes of carbon emissions are no longer entering the atmosphere. It also means every dollar not spent on energy usage can be spent connecting our collections and programmes with our visitors, onsite, offsite and online.”

Outstanding Performance in Carbon Management, Medium Organisation

Overall winner

· Auckland War Memorial Museum

Other category winners

· Soar Printing Company Limited

· Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley Australia

· Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA)

· Holmes Consulting Group Limited

· Waitaki Biosciences

Find out more about Soar Print’s sustainability achievements.

Red foiled art catalogue wins gold award for Soar Arts

‘Welcome to my world: The Art of Sam Taare’ was produced for graphic artist Martin Page, in conjunction with Gus Fisher Gallery. It was printed with Soar’s iGen digital press on Supreme Whiteback single-sided art board. The cover featured red metallic foiling. This catalogue won Gold at this year’s Pride in Print awards.

If you’re involved in an arts-related business or organisation, you’ll know that organising print and digital promotional material is a big task that eats time as well as money. But now there’s an easier way.

Soar Arts is transforming print wrangling in the arts sector. It’s an advisory, design and print management service for galleries, arts events, theatres, performance groups and every other kind of enterprise operating in the arts sphere.

Specialised printing expertise for the creative sector

Stuart Shepherd is the main man behind the service. Before starting up Soar Arts, which is a subsidiary of Soar Print, he was a book publisher and distributor of arts publications in New Zealand and overseas. His expertise with arts-related promotions and publications is proving invaluable to Soar Arts’ clients.

Recently Stuart has been working with two major art events – the New Zealand Outsider Art Fair and Open Studios Waitakere. Both events rely on gaining awareness within the arts-loving public, as well as providing event-goers with instant information about what to see and where.

Renee Tanner of Open Studios Waitakere says that Soar Arts has made a real difference to this year’s event.

“Stuart understood what I was hoping to achieve with the event and was able to apply his knowledge of print to help us with key decisions. I didn’t have to learn all about print promotion and production, because he was there to advise me. One of our publicity pieces is a pocket-sized brochure, and it’s working really well. I’m seeing it everywhere and our brand looks great. Now that I’ve discovered Soar Arts, I wouldn’t go elsewhere for print services.”

Making art look good in print

For the New Zealand Outsider Art Fair marketing collateral, which included a flipbook that works on mobile phones, Stuart worked closely with Erwin van Asbeck, managing director of Toi Ora Live Art Trust.

“Working with Soar Arts has certainly made the task of promoting our art fair easier and less stressful. With a 10-day programme across 35 venues, getting the promotional material together was a major task. Working with Stuart helped us to get it right across a whole range of material – catalogue, posters, postcards and tee shirts. A real benefit was being able to give our patrons a digital version of the catalogue, which they can read easily on their phone.”

As an adjunct to promotional material for the art fair, Soar Arts printed a catalogue featuring the work of the late Sam Taare, an East Coast artist. Designed by acclaimed graphic artist Martin Page and printed on Soar’s iGen digital press, this publication is titled ‘Welcome to my world: the art of Sam Taare’. Taare’s family travelled from East Cape to perform and sing at the opening of the art fair.

Every kind of printing for arts-related endeavours

The Soar Arts service covers newsletters and mailers, publishing services (including production of mobile-friendly flipbooks), posters, postcards and brochures. And because Soar Arts is linked to Soar Print, there’s easy access to graphic design services, warehouse storage, logistics and mail-house services. Pricing is pleasingly sharp, so that promotional budgets go further.

For more information about Soar Arts, email Stuart Shepherd stuarts@soarprint.co.nz

Find out more about Soar Arts, a print service for the creative sector.

RNZYS programme is helping NZ’s sailing talent to Soar

Soar Print is a keen supporter of New Zealand sporting success, which is why we sponsor the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Youth Training Programme. One of the boats in the training fleet wears our logo and is known by its sailing team as ‘the Soar Print boat’.

The RNZYS Youth Training Programme is an 11-month course that helps promising sailors to excel on and off the water. It’s open to young men and women ages 15 to 23 and training is usually held in the weekends. The programme utilises the squadron’s fleet of Elliot 7-metre keelboats, which are ideal for youth development.

Celia Willison is into her third year of sailing with the programme. Previously a dinghy sailor with the Wakatere Boating Club (Narrow Neck Beach), she loves the experience.

“My crew of four sail the Soar boat and I’m on the helm. The programme has given me so many different kinds of sailing experiences that you just don’t get with dinghies. My sailing skills are improving all the time and I particularly enjoy the match racing.”

Recently two new coaches joined the Youth Training Programme – Reuben Corbett is the new training manager and Greg Dair is assistant coach. Reuben is a graduate of the programme who progressed to competing on the world match racing circuit with many successes in Europe and around the globe. Greg was born in Los Angeles and moved to New Zealand four years ago. He has been around sailing his whole life and recently worked as the director of the Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Programme.

The RNZYS also runs a performance programme with foiling catamarans, which is a pathway for top young sailors to develop skills required to compete at an international level.

Find out about applying for the RNZYS Youth Training Programme.

See other Soar Print sponsorships.

Gold award recognises Soar’s commitment to craft & pride

This year’s Pride in Print awards delivered a big surprise for Soar and Rocket.

In addition to receiving gold awards for printing, the Soar Print Group was named Training Company of the Year. What’s more, Rocket’s apprentice Ryan Fraser was a finalist in Apprentice of the Year and Chris Agius, GM of Rocket, was a finalist in Trainer of the Year.

For us, the 2017 print awards were all about the ongoing investment we make in keeping our people sharp. ‘Craft & Pride’ is one of our core values, so this is an important validation.

The Training Company of the Year award has only been around for a few years, and usually it goes to a company far larger than us. From what we know, the judges were impressed by:

Our commitment to lean manufacturing, which includes continuously upskilling our people at all levels of the company.
The Integrity Coaching programme we’re running, which involves supervisors, managers and leaders coaching individuals. Goal setting and communication skills are a particular focus for this programme.
Soar’s ‘train the trainer’ programme, which ensures supervisors and managers know how to educate the next generation of printers.

Of the other accolades we picked up, we’re particularly proud of the gold award for Valspar’s labels. This was one of only five awards given in the labels category.

If you’d like to pick our brains about training, feel free to drop me a line.

Need something printed? Visit our website, then talk to us about award-winning print.

Proud to be My Food Bag’s print partner of choice

We were there when Bill ‘Beef Wellington’ English cut the pasta ribbon that marked the beginning of My Food Bag’s next stage of development, and the company’s CEO Cecilia ‘Chilli’ Robinson personally thanked Soar account manager Andrew ‘Artichoke’ Light.

Soar’s team with Nadia Lim at the official opening of My Food Bag’s new premises.

Soar have been working with My Food Bag from the start of the company’s outrageous rise to fame. The recipe cards we print for them are as fresh as the food ingredients inside every bag.

“My Food Bag recipes are based on fresh seasonal produce and free-range meats, so they can’t plan a long way ahead. This means they need just-in time printing every week”, says Andrew Light, who manages the relationship between My Food Bag and Soar.

Just-in-time printing for just-in-time food bags

Recipe card artwork is received by Soar’s digital print team on a Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. It’s then printed, collated, hole-punched, matched with relevant spice sachets, kitted, sealed and delivered on Thursday, all ready for insertion into food bags. The cards are printed on Soar’s state-of-the-art HP Indigo 7800 and Xerox iGen150 digital presses. To complement this activity, we also print small runs of recipe books, leaflets, packaging and supply chain labels for My Food Bag.

Since My Food Bag launched in 2013 their audience has grown to more than 50,000 customers – more than one million meals every month. At first there was a choice of two types of food bag; today customers can choose between 10 different bags, as well as lunch and fruit boxes. The latest bags to join the menu are the Fresh Start options, which are calorie-controlled to assist weight loss.

Digital printing that looks delicious

“Keeping up with My Food Bag’s incredible growth means we have to stay on our toes”, says Andrew. “We pull out all the stops to ensure their printed material is every bit as delicious as their recipes.”

The next era for My Food Bag will involve listing on the New Zealand sharemarket. The company recently moved into new premises in Parnell, where Nadia ‘Lemongrass’ Lim and her development team have an entire floor devoted to coming up with new recipes.

Read the Stuff story about My Food Bag’s new premises.

Read about Soar’s label printing services.

Discuss just-in-time-printing with Andrew Light.

Turn print into a mobile website. Free trial available now!

Soar’s new digital media service lets your print artwork do double duty. A beautiful brochure can become mobile-friendly screen app. A catalogue, newsletter or magazine can transform seamlessly into a responsive viewing experience on mobile, tablet and desktop.

Soar Print is the New Zealand service provider for Realview Technologies. With our help, your printed publications become responsive web content, making it easier to create campaigns that integrate traditional media with digital channels. We do this by converting your PDF files into interactive, mobile-friendly HTML5 web apps, e-books, e-catalogues and e-mags. Prices start at around $150, depending on what you need.

What is print-to-digital good for?

E-books: Capture information for customers in a user-friendly mobile format that can be downloaded from your website, then use blogs and social media to drive traffic to your e-book.
Tourism: You can convert travel guides and brochures from PDF to HTML5, so that travellers can view them easily on mobile devices.
Manufacturing: Turn catalogues and brochures into interactive flipbooks or mobile web apps that can be sent to customers by email or text message.
Education: Prospectuses, orientation guides and learning resources can become device-friendly apps for current and prospective students.
Magazines: Your mag can become an interactive flipbook or mobile web app. You can also use Realview to archive your magazines online.
Fashion collections: Every season you can send customers a new online publication to browse, with click throughs to your online store.
Events: Turn your hard copy programme into a user-friendly web app.
Recipe collections: Hardcopy recipes can become a flipbook, for cooks who like to use a tablet instead of a regular cookbook.

Want to talk digital media and see an app in action?

Any PDF can be published to mobile with Soar's new digital media service. To see some of the projects we’ve already completed, call Stuart Shepherd on 021630954 or email stuarts@soarprint.co.nz

Find out about our FREE TRIAL OFFER.

Why people can’t stop fiddling with a Z-CARD®

Soar recently became the official printer for Z-CARD PocketMedia® solutions. These nifty, interactive folded creations are great for business cards, maps, event programmes, guides and catalogues. People can’t stop fiddling with them, which is why they should be on your marketing horizon.

The printed phenomenon known as Z-CARD® is a card-size multi-fold communication invented by travel consultant George McDonald in 1992. Printed on a single piece of paper, it has a glued-on card cover and back.

If you want customers to keep your printed material – whether it’s a catalogue, event programme or map – a Z-CARD is the ace up your sleeve. People love the format because it’s intriguing to use and fits easily into a pocket.

Since our Z-CARD relationship kicked off, we’ve printed them for the University of Auckland, Lexus, Yealands, Toyota, University of Waikato, Fonterra, ACC and the World Master's Games 2017.

5 ways a Z-CARD works harder

People love them! When surveyed, 87% of respondents prefer a Z-CARD format to a regular leaflet
More than 93% said they would keep a Z-CARD that contains relevant information
65% of recipients keep their Z-CARD for six months or longer
Compared to traditional leaflets, 22% more Z-CARD recipients recall who produced the piece.
People with a Z-CARD are twice as likely to keep it ‘on person’ than a traditional leaflet

Want the ultimate business card?

If someone handed you a business card that was a Z-CARD, chances are you’d keep it for a long time. Not just because it’s a unique way of presenting contact information, but because the pages contain all sorts of useful stuff – a CV, business presentation or company profile.

Z-CARD: The Original

The original way to condense information into a retainable and highly portable format. Great for catalogues, maps and guides.

C-CARD: The single concertina

A great low-cost option for conveying smaller amounts of information. Great as a business card, internal communications piece or health & safety guide.

K-CARD: The Coupon King

An ideal format for delivering promotional coupons or vouchers. It incorporates a response mechanism, involving tear-off panels.

When you need a piece of print that punches above its weight, discuss Z-CARD with Stuart Thompson on 021 522 427 or email stuart@zcard.co.nz

Visit the Z-CARD website.

See the Z-CARD NZ Facebook page.