Margie Dana

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Nana Gallo's homemade blueberry muffins. Mmmmmm. More than their taste, I remember their distinctive aroma at Sunday morning breakfast, after Mass. I'd know that scent anywhere. Just one whiff - and I'm right back in that tiny kitchen on Rosedale Avenue in Madison.

We all have emotional reactions to different scents for different reasons. Maybe it’s a favorite food. Perhaps it’s a scent worn by someone you love, or used to love.

Lately, I've been aware of an "aromatic" marketing trend. It’s a printing process, so I followed my nose (ouch) to a printer in New England who is making a name for itself with scented varnishes.

Concord Litho of Concord, NH, has been offering scented varnishes for three years now, having tested them first (before they were available commercially). For today's column, I spoke with their Marketing Director, Ms. Ali Westcott.

Prior to our conversation, I had one image of scented inks: those perfume ads in fashion magazines. You know them - you can't flip through a magazine without being hit squarely in the face with six or seven different scents. As much as I love perfume, these strips are often just annoying.

The newer technology is totally different, noted Westcott. Microencapsulated fragrance oil is mixed with clear, unscented varnish. It's polymer based.

The scent strips used most often in magazines are composed of a gelatin-based slurry, mixed with a little glue. They're made of bigger capsules that break open when you open the strip of paper - and often do so prematurely. These strips are fairly economical. However, once they're opened, and the scent is released, that's it. The "pass-along" readership value, as Westcott put it, is low.

Another type of scented printing is the traditional scratch-and-sniff. Generally we associate this technology with kids' stickers (I remember those cloying strawberry and bubble-gum stickers too well).

Westcott noted a few drawbacks to the scratch-and-sniff technology. The printed piece doesn't look particularly good. (Scratch-n-sniff is made with a water-based slurry, and the resulting paste tends to blur the graphics, and look like, well, paste.) Plus, vigorously scratch it a few times and the scent is gone.

Rub a Dub

Scented varnishes are activated not by scratching but by rubbing your hand or finger across the printed piece. It's better than the older technology, said Westcott, for a few reasons:

1. The fragrance remains dormant until you release it (by rubbing). For one thing, this makes it easier to comply with certain governmental and postal regulations. For another, it "doesn't smell up" the book or magazine you're holding in your hand.

2. It's super long-lasting. According to Westcott, a product with this scented varnish can be stored on retail shelves for more than five years; and its hundreds of layers of tiny capsules means you can reactivate the scent over and over again (greatly increasing pass-along readership value).

3. It's nontoxic.

4. It's clear - so it doesn't mess with your graphic.

5. It's about 40% cheaper than scent strips.

Concord Litho works with technology produced by Scentisphere® in Valhalla, NY. This firm is the only North American distributor of this technology, which is called Rub'n Smell® (gotta love it).

Ph.D. in Scentology?

Does a printing company needed special equipment - or a Professor Pepe Le Pew - to work with this technology? No and no, says Westcott. Concord Litho has used the varnish on both sheetfed and web offset presses. (Westcott was, however, quick to praise the company’s ink technicians and press crews, who by now have a very thorough understanding of how this stuff works.)

I wondered how the potent proofs are made. Silly me: they do drawdowns, so that customers can approve the scent they ordered. The fun continues. They have "scent OKs" press-side!

Keep in mind that using these scented varnishes can add about 15-30% to your print job, depending on the size of the area you want scented (Concord Litho’s advice is to apply the scent to an area no smaller than 2-by-2 inches) and the total number of pieces you need.

Favorite Smells and TV Firsts

The most requested scents are chocolate (big surprise) and other food scents - like gingerbread cookies. I asked Westcott if anyone had ordered any strange scents. She named two: bacon. . .and asphalt (but not for the same campaign).

Recently, Concord Litho had a hand in making TV history here in the States. They printed interactive scent cards for a 'Laugh 'n Sniff episode of NBC's "My Name is Earl."

The card was printed in a particular issue of TV Guide magazine. NBC prompted viewers via on-air graphics to rub one of six corresponding boxes on the scent card. This released scents that were connected to the show's storyline - a brand new car, Oreo cookies (a custom scent), cinnamon buns, buttered popcorn, clean laundry, and stinky men's cologne.

Evidently, scent marketing is big business. Try Googling it - you'll be faced with over a million hits. Let me know if you've tried this new scented varnish technology.

I want to thank Ali Westcott of Concord Litho for helping me with today's Print Tip. You can reach her at 800-258-3662 x456 or at ali@concordlitho.com. Concord Litho does offer a comprehensive "Scented Varnish Kit" for marketing managers and print buyers. Ask Ali!

©2007 Margie Dana. All rights reserved. You're free to forward this email to friends and colleagues: please do! However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.

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Celebrate New England Printing!

The Boston Litho & Craftsmen's Club is producing the 30th Annual Gallery of Superb Printing on Tuesday, May 8th, at the Marriott Burlington (MA) Hotel. Cocktails are at 5:30 and dinner, 6:45 pm. This is an awards show that recognizes the excellence among New England printers. Tickets are $70 each. To reserve your seat, call Larry Crichton at (978) 975-3100 x 139. I will be there - hope you will be, too.

May Pole (get it?)

Print customers, please tell us -
Does your company have on-site print/reproduction capability for short-run, fast-turnaround jobs (offset and/or digital)?

• Yes - for b/w jobs only

• Yes - for b/w and color

• No

Cast your vote today. Go to our home page at www.bostonprintbuyers.com. It's in the right column.

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