THERMOFORMED ACRYLIC SHEET 'FORMS' INNOVATIVE CATALOG PACKAGING
FOR THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

Rockaway, NJ - October, 20 2003 - The School of The Art Institute of Chicago has designed an eye-catching new catalog for its latest exhibition, "The Consistency of Shadows-Exhibition Catalogs as Autonomous Works of Art." Supporting the unique design of the artistic catalog is a thermoformed acrylic package that protects as well as displays the contents.

The packaging for the three-dimensional display was thermoformed from ACRYLITE PLUS(r) acrylic sheet donated by CYRO Industries. The Betty Rymer Gallery at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago wanted to offer a catalog of the exhibit and include a CD ROM of color images. Rather than insert the CD in a flap or sleeve, industrial designer Kevin Henry (head of product design at neighboring Columbia College Chicago) collaborating with the Special Collections Librarian, Doro Boehme, designed a catalog that would itself be a freestanding work of art. The CD is suspended perpendicular to the binding of the book through a slot in the catalog's pages. The entire piece is then enveloped in the clear, rigid acrylic case to both protect and display the CD and catalog.

ACRYLITE PLUS sheet, used for the packaging, thermoforms better than standard acrylic and provided exceptional optical clarity and impact strength. Mercury Plastics, Chicago, IL, was contracted to thermoform the ACRYLITE PLUS sheet.

"This was our first time thermoforming with ACRYLITE PLUS sheet. It processed well, easily routed and formed, and we look forward to working with it again," says Kevin Kinane, Account Executive, Mercury Plastics.

The show and the catalog were a success. "We're very pleased with the catalog and the packaging; it reflects the ideas and artistic quality of the exhibit itself," comments Doro Doehme, Curator and Special Collections Librarian, Art Institute of Chicago.

Headquartered in Rockaway, NJ, CYRO Industries is the innovative supplier of specialty acrylic solutions to existing and emerging markets in the Americas. Formed in 1976 as a joint partnership between Cytec Industries and Röhm GmbH & Co., KG, a subsidiary of Degussa AG, CYRO has broad technological and global resources to respond to market demands.

Engineers at CYRO's Technical Center in Orange, Ct. work closely with customers to recommend appropriate acrylic materials as well as offer acrylic-related solutions. CYRO offers on-line technical support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through The TechKnowlogy Center at www.cyro.com.

For more information about CYRO, contact:

CYRO Industries
100 Enterprise Drive
Rockaway, NJ 07866
Tel: 800-631-5384
Fax: 973-442-6117
 visit www.cyro.com.