THE CHALLENGE

The Cin-Made Corporation needed to partner with a printer able to handle the exacting standards set by Austin, Nichols & Co. To set its product apart from other bourbons, particularly in the overseas and duty-free markets, Austin, Nichols wanted a high end canister including a rich graphic look incorporating the look of the labels on their bottles with interesting backgrounds. 

They also wanted the package to have a “classy” feel. A ripple effect was wanted for the background of the Rare Breed and eight-year-old brands, while the 12-year-old version was to have a matte look and feel with a rich combination of burgundy and black for the graphics. To create the color, ten colors of ink were necessary.


THE SOLUTION

With such a complicated package, extremely close teamwork was called for. Lithocraft, Cin-Made, the graphic design company, and the marketing and purchasing people from Austin, Nichols met several times in New York to coordinate the project. It was very important to find out the expectations of the designers and marketing department. The problems of trying to mount an embossed label onto a fiberboard without "squeezing" or "flattening" the emboss is an example of some of the issues that were addressed and agreed upon. Representatives of the design firm and Austin, Nichols were on hand at Lithocraft to ensure that the printing was exactly what they wanted. They also were on hand at Cin-Made to view the canisters being formed.


THE CONCLUSION

The results of this hard work were noticed almost immediately out in the field. The bourbon flew off the shelves and the packaging looked so great it was featured in Packaging Digest.

Fast deadlines don’t leave any room for errors. Close teamwork reduces the chances for mistakes and opens the door to the on time delivery of quality printing and packaging.