Claude Monet

PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES of the last 20 years transformed the dull, gray-stock sports trading card into works of art. Some premium cards over the past 10 years incorporate autographs and portions of memorabilia (go to piworld.com and search for the September 2006 cover story on Strine Printing for more on high-end card printing). Consumers can visit the dedicated Website, upload an image, enter a youth's team name and player statistics, view a PDF proof and then order a pack of 16 cards. "The quality we are able to offer with the HP Indigo press, as well as our highly developed Web-to-print workflows, gave Nestlé the confidence that we would be providing a best-in-class solution that reaches a target audience in a way no other promotion can," stated Susan Moore, president of DPI, in a release. DPI prints 16 sheets at a time, and the cards are UV coated, cut, stacked, packaged and shipped to the consumer in a process that doesn't require collation.

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