American Printer: 2004 Obie winners truly push the envelope

Byline: Katherine O'Brien

As veteran industry observers know, it's awards season in the graphic arts. But even as vendors savor their InterTech accolades and Graph Expo "Must See 'Em" triumphs while printers count their "Bennies" and polish their Gallery of Superb Printing plaques, one question is on everyone's lips: Who will take home an Obie Award?

The Obie awards have many claims to fame. First, they have nothing to do with Ben Franklin. Second, they are shamelessly named after myself and inspired by the marketing principles of the great automotive artist Earl Scheib. That's right. No ups, no extras. There's no fancy-pants dinner, no gaudy trophy and no elegantly inscribed certificate. Just this page, which is printed with TLC (not to mention soy ink) in Long Prairie, MN, and is eminently suitable for framing.

More mailing

This year, the Obie Awards Committee unanimously voted to recognize some outstanding mailing-related developments. Reportedly, 48 percent of all printed products are distributed through the mail. And, as we noted in June's "Mailing and fulfillment," Clint Bolte says the Direct Marketing Assn. (DMA) is forecasting an annual 4.9 percent growth in direct mailing through 2007. And now, the 2004 Obie winners.

Best postal quip

Bolte, principal, C. Clint Bolte & Associates (Chambersburg, PA), also is a 2004 Obie Award winner. He's been a great help to our staff as we researched material handling issues, press technology and a wide range of other topics. Bolte is also the author of "How fulfillment services drive print volume" and has addressed this and other postal issues at several industry conferences. He recently wrote an article on thwarting MERLIN concerns:

"While MERLIN might suggest the wizard from Knights of the Round Table, those of us who follow Harry Potter's exploits might think of Harry as the well intended printer/mailer and MERLIN as his latest dementor. Government acronyms occasionally take on a life of their own ..."

With that lead, Bolte launched himself into the select society of Obie honorees. Bolte also gets extra Obie points for being the only person we know who can tie a bow tie. (See www.clintbolte.com.)

Unlikeliest source of cocktail-hour fodder

National Adhesives (Bridgewater, NJ) wins for its informative New Gum Gazette. At first I was misled by the newsletter's title. I assumed the publication would reveal why Bazooka Joe wears an eye patch, highlight rare sightings of Beeman's Blackjack black-licorice gum and feature passionate debates between Juicy Fruit and Doublemint fans. But it actually has a lot of interesting information on seal gum topics. New Gum Gazette explains why envelope manufacturers don't use flavored gums, the difference between kraft paper and white wove envelopes, and the amount of seal gum needed to produce high-quality envelopes. (See www.nationalstarch.com.)

Outstanding achievement in personalization

Sure, anyone can produce a personalized direct-mail campaign. But what if you could put your own face on a stamp? Stamps.com conducted a popular "PhotoStamps" test program this past August. Users could submit digital photos of subjects such as graduation ceremonies, kids or pets and receive valid stamps featuring those images. Although it seems like a natural fit for wedding invitations or birth announcements, pranksters eager to test the censorship powers of Stamps.com also embraced the personalized postage. (Full disclosure: I seriously considered ordering some Dick Vinocur stamps.)

According to one source, an estimated 100,000 sheets (that's two million individual PhotoStamps), were ordered during the seven-week testing period. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is reviewing the program and will decide its fate in the next 90 days.

Stamps.com suggests writing to the USPS and Congress: "If you wish to express your interest in seeing the program continue, it would be extremely helpful... Be sure to explain how you used the postage and what it meant to you or your friends and family to be able to include your own photo on valid US postage." (See www.stamps.com.)

Now it's your turn. Do you have an Obie-worthy mail-related project? We look forward to your nominations - e-mail them to me.

kobrien@primediabusiness.com