Hazen Paper wins 2021 IHMA Award for Excellence in Holography for Basketball Hall of Fame Yearbook

The International Hologram Manufacturers Assn. (IHMA) has honored Hazen Paper Co. for the second year in a row for “Best Applied Decorative/Packaging Product” at the 2021 Excellence in Holography Awards. The awards, presented at the Holography Conference Online, recognize “outstanding achievement … in holographic products or techniques which represent the best in the industry for innovation and commercial potential.”

Hazen captured the judge’s attention with the 2020 Enshrinement Yearbook produced for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA.

The award-winning yearbook employed holography to create a dynamic, three-dimensional image of the Hall of Fame’s iconic dome and spire and its panoramic interior, which was overprinted with a collage of the year’s inductees in action. The combination of two contrasting yet complementary techniques served to amplify the engaging power of holography, as well as to draw attention to the honorees in the foreground. The back cover featured eye-catching holographic treatment of Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun, the location of the enshrinement ceremony.

Hazen produced the cover holography wholly within its vertically integrated facility for exacting quality and performance. The custom hologram was originated in Hazen’s holographic laser lab, micro-embossed and transfer-metallized onto 12-pt WestRock Tango C2S using Hazen’s environmentally friendly Envirofoil process. Envirofoil is manufactured with less than 1% of the aluminum of traditional foil laminate, reuses the film carrier multiple times, and is recyclable as paper.

Agency GO of Hartford, CT, designed the limited-edition yearbook cover, which was printed and individually numbered for authenticity on an HP Indigo 5500 digital press by Starburst Printing of Holliston, MA. 

Founded in 1925, Hazen Paper Co. is an innovative paper converter specializing in holographic origination, film coating, foil and paper lamination, metallizing, gravure printing, specialty coating and rotary embossing to create specialty materials for worldwide use in retail display and POP, luxury, beauty, entertainment and media packaging, bookbinding, scratch-off lottery and other security-related tickets, tags and cards, and fine art applications. Family owned, run by a multidisciplinary management team, Hazen is committed to sustainability, using hydropower produced by the Connecticut River, with certification to supply converted paper and paperboards that are FSC, SFI and PEFC certified.