M&S Invitation - A/W 2011 Collection

This is a very luxurious looking invitation to the launch of the Autumn/Winter collection for Marks & Spencer.

The size of the job is 154x218mm portrait. It uses Flockage Colours 400gsm in Navy.  For those of you which are not familiar with this product, it is a flocked board which feels like a velvety cloth/material to the touch but which remarkably you can actually "flatten" the pile by use of a  "heat de-boss". In this case the square pattern is "heat de-bossed" and it is then hot foil blocked in silver.

Flockage is an expensive material, but because of the small quantity used and the fact that only two similar processes are being used on it (and waste is therefore minimal) a luxury, high impact impression can be achieved for a relatively low cost.

To give these invitations extra weight (and gravitas), they have been duplexed together with a chocolate brown board ( ...from the other well know Hull based paper merchant!) The total thickness is just over 1mm and the edge is edge in silver.

Design and Art Direction is by Iain White at Pure Design. Print is by Push.

 

www.marksandspencer.com

www.pure-design.co.uk

www.push-print.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 29.12.2011

Ding Dong

This is the clever little festive greeting card (...or should that be parcel?) from Magpie Studio.

Have a look and then I'll explain...

As Magpie see it, posties are the unsung heroes of Christmas. Up early in all weathers contending with impossible addresses and dogs nipping at their heels, this is their tribute to these troopers.

Working with photographer John Angerson, Magpie contrived to getting as many of the posties from around the Shoreditch area and the various routes (or walks as they call them in the PO) as possible ending up with thirteen in total. Words are written by Scott Perry (Bard of Bray).

The outer cover which looks like a package is formed using our Rib-Tone 2 sided 340gsm and forms both the cover and envelope. The fourteen cards are "bound" in using the Royal Mail red rubber bands that we are so familiar with, littering the outside of many front doors and workplaces!

Print, finishing and rubber-banding (!) is by Gavin Martin Colournet. It's also worth pointing out that the Rib-Tone is printed in 1 colour - white - on their new HP Indigo digital press! not silkscreen or hot foil ...it's white ink! 

 

The cards are printed on our Omnia 280gsm, which as you can see from above, prints a solid red, just beautifully and are also printed on the HP Indigo.

www.magpie-studio.com

www.johnangerson.com

www.bardofbray.com

www.gavinmartincolournet.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.12.2011

RCA Alumni 2010

Current membership of the organisation that represents the Alumni of the Royal College of Art, called AlumniRCA is 5,335. Each year they produce a publication to communicate with and about the Alumni and the current activities/developments at the college.

It is a simple, economical format, easy to use for both mailing and display purposes. The format is a 16pp, closed gatefold. Size is A5 folding out to A2 (420x597mm).

Front Cover:

opening out to...

opening out again to...

folding out to...

Design is by Europa and the designer on the project is Paul Tisdell. The publication is printed on Omnia 120gsm which was chosen because of the tactile feel and the way it would reproduce the images, including the one on the reverse, which is a fantastic photograph by Noemie Goudal  (RCA MA Photography 2010)

The job was printed and finished by Pureprint.

www.rca.ac.uk/alumni
www.europaeuropa.co.uk
www.pureprint.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.12.2011

New digital installation

I popped in to see London based printer Gavin Martin Colournet last week and they are excitedly experimenting with their new bit of kit, a digital press - an HP Indigo 5500 ...so I took a picture of their new machine:

This new press is their first digital installation and is to compliment with their existing Heidelberg B1 Offset Litho press. The press features a capability to print special colours and opaque white.

Personally I was also excited about their other machine installation, a new Nespresso machine, which Gary Bird was kind enough to operate for me... 

www.gavinmartincolournet.co.uk

www.hp.co/indigo

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.12.2011



CIA Calendar 2012

This is an excellent 2012 desk calendar produced by the Central Illustration Agency (CIA). There are 52 illustrations (one per week) and all the illustrations all relate to this year's Olympian theme "The Alternative Games..."

Unusually for a desk calendar, the front sheet is actually a folded poster, printed on Offenbach Bible 60gsm. The Size of the calendar is 140mm square - the poster folds out to 420x560mm

The poster design is by Jonas Bergstrand.

...and now for the calendar itself:

The 140mm square calendar is printed on Omnia Natural 120gsm, chosen so that it would have an uncoated feel but reproduce the wide and diverse illustrations superbly. The "tent card" (which is the commonly used term for the supporting cardboard frame) is made from a sturdy sheet of Trojan Whiteback 510gsm (below pic):

Production (at the CIA) was dealt with by Charlotte Hanlon. Design is by Staziker Jones and print is by Hartleywilprint based in Wales.

http://www.centralillustration.com/

http://www.stazikerjones.co.uk/
http://www.hartleywilprint.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 16.12.2011

V&A 2010/2011

This is a superb piece of print - the 2010/2011 Annual Review published by the V&A.  The report is structured in such a way that it literally goes through the year on a month by month basis, showing the exhibitions and the life of the museum in a close up way.

With image reproduction being so important, it was essential that everything reproduced amazingly! The text chosen for the project is Omnia 150gsm - chosen because the print includes solid colours and images of exhibits - and it looks brilliant.

The cover is hot foil blocked in a grey pigmented foil. It is a 350gsm material from the well known, Hull based paper merchant, in Smoke with a morocco embossing. It has an elastic loop which is riveted to the cover - a very nice touch.

Size of the book is 200x265mm, portrait format, perfect bound. The 72pp text is printed in CMYK throughout - beautifully. Additionally, there are 6 tracing paper inserts.

The report was designed in house at the V&A by Nadine Fleischer and Lindsay Pentelow. Since the publication of the report earlier this year, Nadine and Lindsay have left the museum and set up their own design practice called Irish Butcher (www.irishbutcher.co.uk)

The excellent print, foiling and finishing is by Generation Press.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

www.generationpress.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 14.12.2011

New 2012 Diary

I just received a very nice e-mail from James Blakeborough at Manchester based "Only a northern soul". The e-mail shows a picture of a tired and well loved 2011 diary which is his "freelance booking bible" - and particularly appropriate, given that it is printed on Offenbach Bible! James was simply checking that we were producing a 2012 diary and making sure I had his new address details.

...never fear! The 2012 diary is going in the post this week (hopefully!) so should be with you before Christmas.



I can't tell you what colour it is because you could be getting one of many colours - all printed on our Colorset 100% Recycled 270gsm.

This year, we are also doing a seperate Colorset desk calendar as well...

So keep an eye out for the postman.

...and thanks to James for the pic of his well thumbed diary
www.onlyanorthernsoul.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 12.12.2011

Surface View

This is an exquisite piece of literature for a company who's business is all about image.

Surface View is an enterprise who are in the business of collaborating with designers and architects to produce bespoke images installed in buildings, spaces, businesses and homes, either as murals, mounted prints, blinds, textiles or a host of other substrates.

This brochure, titled "Handbook" is about what they do and the way they work. With image reproduction being such an important part of their business, it was essential that everything reproduced amazingly! The text chosen for the project is Omnia 120gsm - chosen because the imagery from Marvel to Getty Images to the V&A looks brilliant. The 270gsm cover material is from the other well known, Hull based paper merchant, in Smoke Grey.

Size of the book is 172x240mm, portrait format, section sewn binding. The 4pp cover is silkscreened in white, 50pp text is printed in CMYK throughout - with some particularly good four colour black and white images.

Design is by Ben Stott and it is superb. Print is by Push and it is also superb. Not a lot more to say other than I have used the word "image" six times and "superb" twice in this one post ....but hey, who's counting? 

http://www.surfaceview.co.uk/

http://www.benstott.com/

http://www.push-print.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 08.12.2011

University of the Arts 2012

...just the cover makes the difference!

Here's a job that is worth a look, because the cover is used to add to the quality and feel of the whole project. This is the 2012 course guide for the University of The Arts which is produced in many different languages (Russian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese - to name but a few). The size of the job is 170x240mm portrait. This was quite a large run and what makes it a worth noticing is the way in which Omnia 200gsm has been used for the cover to give it a more tactile engaging feel. The text is on an uncoated offset as the budget dictated. The cover is hot foil blocked in matt white foil which gives it a quality feel and keeps it miles away from the naff "glossy" brochures which are often produced for university guides - the cover sets the tone and feel for the publication

This is an excellent example of using a material for a part of a project which can just lift the whole look and feel and make a piece of literature special.

The job is designed by Unlimited in Brighton. Designer on the project is Patrick Morrissey.  It was produced in conjunction with Simon Goode at the Department of Communications and Development at the University of the Arts. Print is by Tradewinds.

www.arts.ac.uk

www.weareunlimited.co.uk

www.tradewindslondon.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 05.12.2011

Matt Hill wins World Championship

Ever wondered what other people who follow this blog get up to? Matt Hill is a talented young tap dancer who was selected to represent England at the IDO World Tap dance Championships held last week in Riesa, Germany.

Being selected was one thing, but yesterday evening he walked away with the World Title of Junior Male Soloist on behalf of England.

If the truth be told, Matt isn't particularly interested in paper ...he's still at school, but as a family friend and inveterate blogger he has contributed to my enthusiasm for blogging.

Above are pictured the 2011 World Champions (Matt in centre)

Matt dances with the Redhurst School of Dancing in East Grinstead and with the group Tap Attack. Congratulations to Matt and all in the England team.
www.ido-dance.com
www.mrskayballeastgrinstead.co.uk
www.tapattack.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.12.2011

Jobs from the past - Number 26

Regular followers of this blog will know that my first post of every month is a "job from the past" so that I can show some of the really good work from years gone by...

D&AD Membership Campaign

August 2006

Having introduced several new membership categories, D&AD appointed NB to produce a comprehensive promotional campaign. In NB's own words: "To appeal to the target audience – the creative industries – we opted for clarity and wit. Using objects commonly found in creative environments and items related to specific membership benefits, we created collage set pieces which were photographed by John Ross. Striking, cohesive and cost effective, the campaign launched with a fold out poster."

The A1 posters which folded down to A5 were printed on Offenbach Bible in 60gsm because at this weight (and if folded correctly - i.e. concertina and concertina, therefore allowing all air to escape) there are no "crows feet" appearing - if you're not familiar with that term, it's where a rather ugly crease appears crinkled from the centre of the fold, splaying out like the bird's foot.

Creative Directors on the project were Nick Finney Ben Stott and Alan Dye. Designer was Eng Su.

It was printed and finished by Pureprint (48,000 copies, as I recall). Pureprint were the print sposnor of D&AD at that time.

http://www.dandad.org/

http://www.nbstudio.co.uk/

http://www.benstott.com/

www.johnross.co.uk/

http://www.pureprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.12.2011