University of Missouri Wins In-Print 2005 Best of Show

The four-color Illumination magazine has won the University of Missouri-Columbia its third Best of Show award.

By Bob Neubauer

Some jobs get everyone's attention. Illumination magazine is one of them.

"When Illumination comes through the plant, everyone kind of perks up," says Rick Wise, director of Printing Services at the University of Missouri-Columbia. That's because the publication repeatedly wins a top prize in the In-Print contest. Pride in this accomplishment makes in-plant employees take just a little more time to ensure that each issue is as perfect as it can be.

"It always gets our best effort," affirms Wise.

That extra care paid off yet again this year. The Spring 2004 issue of Illumination beat 522 other pieces and was selected as the Best of Show winner in In-Print 2005. This is Printing Services' third Best of Show award in seven years, and the second it has won for printing Illumination magazine.

A History of Winning

In three of the past four years, Illumination has won first place in the In-Print contest's magazine category. Wise feels that because the magazine has a history of winning, both its designers and the printing and bindery specialists in his in-plant feel a personal attachment to the piece. They want each new issue to win again. And because of their additional scrutiny, it does.

"It fulfills its own prophesy," remarks Wise.

This year, not only did the magazine's Spring issue win a Gold award, but the Fall issue took home a Bronze award in the same category.

Wise commends the university's Office of Publications and Alumni Communications for the excellent design work on the piece.

"They really do an outstanding job," he says.

The magazine's design gives his crew some challenges, he says, forcing them to work harder to make sure crossovers line up perfectly and stitches are placed correctly. But without that degree of difficulty, Wise acknowledges, Illumination would not stand out and might be overlooked for a prize.

The 36-page, 11x12˝ publication features numerous large color photos, all in register. Four of them cross over from one page to the next, matching up perfectly. Wise says pages are scored on a letterpress before being folded.

"Bindery does an outstanding job to make sure that the covers don't crack and the folds are perfect," he says. He also lauds his press operators for their work maintaining a heavy ink coverage on the piece, which also features on inline varnish on the cover.

The in-plant printed 10,000 copies of the magazine on its six-color, 26x40˝ Heidelberg. Wise recently got to show off this press, along with his entire 53,000-square-foot facility, for more than 100 in-plant managers from around the world when he hosted the Association of College and University Printers conference in April. Visitors also got to see the wall of past In-Print awards prominently displayed in Printing Services' facility, including the in-plant's two previous Best of Show obelisks.

Wise says Printing Services' employees take great pride in winning In-Print awards.

"You can tell your people they're doing a great job...but when you're recognized by an objective group of peers that don't know you...it feeds the operation," he says. "Any shop that isn't participating in this competition should."

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