When the Department of Conservation wanted to produce an easy-to-use measuring guide for anglers fishing for trout in the DOC Taupo Fishing District, it turned to Mesh Print of Petone for a solution.
And that solution – a screen-printed decal – was so clever on so many fronts that it carried off the Labels Category award in this year’s Pride In Print Awards.
The label had to show the legal minimum length of 40cm for the fish from the tip of the nose to the V of the tail. DOC had to be sure the finished decal would not shrink, as any shrinkage would mean it was not showing the correct legal length, nor could the printing fade.
Mesh Print’s solution to these challenges was to take a polyester self-adhesive label and use screenprint to apply the image of a trout at full size, with the legal length shown clearly. The decal sticks on to an easy-to-assemble wooden measuring block, for which assembly instructions were included.
Screenprinting was the only process that would print successfully on to the polyester surface and judges were impressed with the high degree of quality.
Senior judge Richard Noakes commented: “This work mirrors the skills of the old school, brought into the modern age. It is all done by hand – no machines at all. To come out with a result like this, is quite frankly staggering. The quality is right up there. I would be proud to call it my own.”
Lance Bathard, representing Mesh, paid tribute to the Mesh production team headed by Parvin Ravla and Scott Bradshaw.
“If you fish Taupo then you will recognise this decal,” he said. “Fly fishers will stick this on their boats and use it daily. It is a real working tool. It had to be waterproof and durable. Mesh put every possible effort into achieving what DOC wanted and the feedback from the client was great.”