Jobs from the past - Number 103

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 and here's one from 1996.

Vaughan Oliver and v23

Graphic Works 1988-1996

 

This is a broadsheet/poster produced for an exhibition of Vaughan Oliver's work shown at the University of Northumbria in 1996. Vaughan Oliver, under the studio name of v23, is the designer who was responsible for the graphic output of record label 4AD between 1982 and 1998. This included work for many bands  and artists including Mojave 3, Lush, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, Pale Saints and Throwing Muses. He also worked for other artists, outside of 4AD. 

Size of the publication is 420mmx148mm, folding out to 840x592mm and is concertina folded, a great format to show a huge amount of work.

Concertina folding....

The below image shows the outside, fully folded out flat. The image is printed in just once colour (black) offset litho printed as a halftone ...don't forget, back in 1996 one colour print was still considerably cheaper than four colour. As you can see a good, well printed halftone image, with the correct manual reprographic treatment can look amazing, as this image does.

Click on images to enlarge

On the inside, there's a real treat, 49 graphic images, the majority of which are record sleeves plus calendar and brochure artworks.

Click on images to enlarge.

This side is printed offset litho in CMYK plus something that was quite unusual at the time, which is an overprint using a metallic, tinted varnish, which is not opaque and the v23 monogram is printed over every image, as you can see in the below detail images...

This project was produced on a sheet that we had only just introduced in 1994 called Redeem 100% Recycled, which I hope you'll have heard of by now! Back then it was new but had exactly the right look and feel to for this very industrial, utilitarian feel to work with the images. It is printed on Redeem 100% Recycled 130gsm.

It's a large format job which has a huge impact, yet it folds down to a manageable size and was economical to produce - a really great use of material, print and format.

The job was printed by a company called Penshurst Press based in Tunbridge Wells. Sadly the company is no longer around. Alan Flack who was the "minder" that actually physically printed this job left Penshurst Press with Martin Darby to form their own printing company called Principal Colour and they are still based in Paddock Wood in Kent.

 

http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.05.2018