Locally-owned Essence Magazine succeeds by showcasing the best of New Zealand’s beautiful North and South Canterbury as an entertaining and interesting read.

It’s letterbox-delivered in an attractive, hard-copy publication that has been in circulation since 2003, and depends on its quality for the attention it receives. Which makes it all the more rewarding for printer Allied Press to have its efforts recognised.

This year, the company has been honoured as top coldset web-offset entry in the 2024 Pride In Print Awards. An Allied print apprentice, George Cunningham, was also among finalists in this year’s ‘apprentice of the year’ competition.

Print supervisor Justin Aitken says publications – handled by the company’s commercial print arm of the company – but printed on its flexible Goss Universal 70 newspaper press, which handles a range of varying widths and types of paper – is always a “pleasure to print”.

Independently-owned, Allied Press is the publisher of the Otago Daily Times newspaper.

“Essence is a lifestyle publication with a dedicated local focus, and we look forward to printing it and many more,” said Aitken (pictured with the award).

Some 15,500 copies of the publication were printed on the five-tower press on 70gsm paper, and stitched and trimmed in Allied’s Ferag-equipped mailroom.

 Judges praised the “crisp, clean and great-looking publication” in which outstanding photography, design and prepress work had been brought to life with “the highest-quality workmanship on the press”.