DCS has won gold in the Xerox Best of the Best global print award, coming top in the Promotional material for clients category. It was the only UK company to win a category, though Micheal Egan Associates received a commendation in the awards.
The winning entry for DCS was a training book for cosmetic company Clarins, produced for the introduction of a new version of its eye serum.
The job was printed on the Iridesse that DCS installed in September last year, just three months after the east London digital print business was acquired by Barry Page and Dave Gibbons, owner of KNP Litho in Bury St Edmunds.
The new owner set about rebuilding the business and exploiting its location in the shadow of the Exel exhibition and conference centre. As well as the six-colour Iridesse, the company has invested in a Xerox Versant, a five-colour version of the Ricoh Pro C7200 to offer fluorescent pink and a Pro C5300, which join Epsons for large format work. A Vpress web to print solution provides an online customer portal for both DCS and KNP.
“We have been building up the business,” says Page, “so for us to win the Xerox award at this stage is a great achievement. It demonstrates what we are about.”
The job was a work book to train 1,500 Clarins staff so that they could answer any question about a new product. It was supplied in an organic cotton bag with an embroidered silk sleep mask and a seal saying ‘do not open until’ with the date. Inside the work book were a number of QR codes to link to quizzes and a game to check that the training was hitting home. The gold toner from the Iridesse was used to impressive effect on the cover and throughout the book.
Mark Aris, in charge of IT and automation, followed Page to DCS earlier this year. “We used to work for Clarins at DG3. They wanted something a bit more attention grabbing, the gold capacity of the Iridesse suited it so well. Then we managed the fulfilment, the QR codes and all the elements that contributed to the package. Clarins was so pleased with it.”
Page adds that DCS has been positioning itself as a suppler to designers as well as to companies exhibiting at the Exel, where the 50 metre by foot delivery, is the most environmentally friendly option available.
DCS has been working with Xerox to promote the capabilities of the Iridesse. The business also have financial clients, located only a mile or so away in Canary Wharf, says Page. “We are aiming at clients who want something a little more sexy for what they send to fund managers.”
It is the job for Clarins that has provided the winning package, with Page finding out about the honour while watching Chelsea play Juventus from his season ticket seat. “Mark knows not to call during the game, so when he interrupted the match, it had to be something special,” says Page. It turns out that it was.
