Jobs from the past - Number 145

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...

HRP Textile Conservation Studio 
Five Year Review 1991-1996

This is beautifully produced report produced by the Historic Royal Palaces in 1996. It has a fantastic, tactile quality and the design makes the most of the rich subject matter which the palaces have at their disposal. Based at Hampton Court Palace and originally managed by the William Morris Company, the studio now plays an integral part of the conservation efforts of the HRP.

Size of the brochure is 297x210mm portrait and is perfect bound with a 4mm spine. It has a 4pp cover with a mixture of text papers, combining an uncoated feltmark paper with a high gloss 'real art' paper. The cover features a 55mm square cut out which allows the detail from the 'Departure of Abraham' tapestry from 1540 to show through.

The paper used for the cover is Dali Neve 240gsm on the cover and a combination of Dali Neve 160gsm and Concorde Pure Brilliance 135gsm for the text.

One of the things that makes this a really special publication is the choice of materials used. From a range of different papers shown to the client, the feedback was that "Dali is the paper which most represents the tactility and weave of cloth". I recall that Dali was selected over other linen embossed papers, which were regarded as far too 'Faux'

You can see from these pictures showing the close up detail, how well the detail of the tapestry reproduces and how the subtle feltmark pattern is both tactile and visual conveying the image of woven cloth.

The image reproduction of the high gloss coated paper (Concorde Pure Brilliance 135gsm) is superb - remember, this was in the days when a transparency was scanned, colour separations made and film produced before plates were made - nothing digital going on here! ...and the result is superb. This piece of print looks so fresh and outshines many pieces of print that I pick up and handle today.

Design is by Big Active www.bigactive.com. The designer who worked on the project was Mark Watkins. In 2001 Mark left Big Active moving to Derbyshire, where he established his own studio called LUCK.

 

The job was printed by a company called Penshurst Press based in Tunbridge Wells. Sadly the company is no longer around, however Alan Flack and Martin Darby who worked at there (and produced this job) went on to form their own printing company called Principal Colour and their work still features on this blog from time to time.

Just one final thing I've noticed - due to the mixture of text pages it has been perfect bound rather than section sewn (and PUR was only for longer runs in those days) - well, it is holding together perfectly, with no sign of degradation - not bad for nearly 25 years old!

http://conservation100.hrp.org.uk/about/
www.bigactive.com
www.thisisluck.com
http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 01.12.2021

Jobs from the past - Number 123

Happy new year to all my regular readers.

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 this publication is way back from the 1990's

Art & Architecture - Pentagram 1994
This small publication was produced by Pentagram for the society called Art & Architecture to outline the aims of the society, what it involved and about membership - don't forget, this was the days before the internet, so in many ways you could describe this as a 'homepage'!

It is a 16pp self cover, saddle stitched and is A6 (148x105mm) portrait.

Images are printed in Duotone (beautifully) on our uncoated Neptune Unique 140gsm. Printed offset litho in black, grey and a fluorescent orange (this was back in the days when doing a three colour job was cheaper than CMYK!) The photography is by Phil Sayer.

Design is by Pentagram - John Rushworh's team. Unfortunately my notes aren't totally complete - so if you have more information about the project, please let me know and I can amend this post.

The job was printed by a company called Penshurst Press based in Tunbridge Wells. Sadly the company is no longer around. Alan Flack with Martin Darby who handled this project, formed their own printing company called Principal Colour and they are still based in Paddock Wood in Kent.

I have tried to track down the society and sadly I am unable to find anything about it online and I can only assume that it has since collapsed. If anyone has anything to add, please let me know...

https://www.pentagram.com/
http://www.philipsayerpartnership.com/
http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/ 

 Posted by Justin Hobson 03.01.2020

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

Jobs from the past - Number 86



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 1995.  

D&AD Newsletter - December 1995

It's unlikely that D&AD needs much introduction. - Founded in London in 1962 as British Design & Art Direction by a group of creatives and art directors, it has since become a world renowned body championing design and creativity.

This piece of literature is an excellent example of the way communication worked in the pre-internet world! Back in 1995, Mary Lewis was president of D&AD and then, as now, the President's Lectures were a popular draw for creatives (back in these days, tickets were either ordered by post or telephone and sent out by post). Feedback from member indicated a desire for transcripts of the lectures to be printed, so that the content could be more widely circulated, so in this inaugural issue, the D&AD Newsletter was re-launched in December 1995, in the main, to disseminate the transcripts of the lectures.

The publication later became known as Ampersand and I will write about the later issues in the future.

Front Cover

Size of the publication is 445x315mm portrait and is a 16pp 'self cover' and is unbound. It has a wonderfully floppy and tabloid newspaper feel. It is printed on our Redeem 100% Recycled 130gsm.



This issue covered the transcripts of the lectures given by Oliviero Toscani....

Click on images to enlarge

...and Maurice Saatchi.

The paper is a neutral white shade gives the publication a 'newsy' feel which really works with the images and most importantly, the pages which are purely type, as below:

Click on images to enlarge

The publication is printed offset litho in one colour (halftone or monotone printing) and the look and feel is just perfect. A well designed and thoughtful piece of print to be delivered, spread information and disposed of - just like a newspaper!

For a sense of scale, below is the outside back cover pictured with a 300mm ruler and a ballpoint pen, remember the size of the publication is  445x315mm.

The newsletter was printed by a company called Penshurst Press based in Tunbridge Wells. Sadly the company no longer exists - they wound up at the end of the nineties.

The design of the cover and contents is by Vince Frost. Deyan Sudjic gave the advice to Mary Lewis to "keep it simple" which this publication does admirably. Content is edited by David Robson of The Independent.

Photography by Giles Revell, cover photograph: Matthew Donaldson, Saatchi Image: David Levenson/Colorific, Toscani Image: A Rau/Sygma.

Vince Frost left for the sunnier climate of Australia just over fifteen years ago and runs Frost* in Sydney.

...and Fenner Paper? ...yep, we're still here!

https://www.dandad.org/

http://www.frostdesign.com.au/

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.12.2016

Jobs from the past - Number 61

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...

HRP Textile Conservation Studio 
Five Year Review 1991-1996

This is beautifully produced report produced by the Historic Royal Palaces in 1996. It has a fantastic, tactile quality and the design makes the most of the rich subject matter which the palaces have at their disposal. Based at Hampton Court Palace and originally managed by the William Morris Company, the studio now plays an integral part of the conservation efforts of the HRP.

Size of the brochure is 297x210mm portrait and is perfect bound with a 4mm spine. It has a 4pp cover with a mixture of text papers, combining an uncoated feltmark paper with a high gloss 'real art' paper. The cover features a 55mm square cut out which allows the detail from the 'Departure of Abraham' tapestry from 1540 to show through.

The paper used for the cover is Dali Neve 240gsm on the cover and a combination of Dali Neve 160gsm and Concorde Pure Brilliance 135gsm for the text.

One of the things that makes this a really special publication is the choice of materials used. From a range of different papers shown to the client, the feedback was that "Dali is the paper which most represents the tactility and weave of cloth". I recall that Dali was selected over other linen embossed papers, which were regarded as far too 'Faux'

You can see from these pictures showing the close up detail, how well the detail of the tapestry reproduces and how the subtle feltmark pattern is both tactile and visual conveying the image of woven cloth.

The image reproduction of the high gloss coated paper (Concorde Pure Brilliance 135gsm) is superb - remember, this was in the days when a transparency was scanned, colour separations made and film produced before plates were made - nothing digital going on here! ...and the result is superb. This piece of print looks so fresh and outshines many pieces of print that I pick up and handle today.

Design is by Big Active www.bigactive.com. The designer who worked on the project was Mark Watkins. In 2001 Mark left Big Active moving to Derbyshire, where he established his own studio called LUCK.

 

The job was printed by a company called Penshurst Press based in Tunbridge Wells. Sadly the company is no longer around, however Alan Flack and Martin Darby who worked at there (and produced this job) went on to form their own printing company called Principal Colour and their work still features on this blog from time to time.

Just one final thing I've noticed - due to the mixture of text pages it has been perfect bound rather than section sewn (and PUR was only for longer runs in those days) - well, it is holding together perfectly, with no sign of degradation - not bad for nearly 20 years old!

http://conservation100.hrp.org.uk/about/
www.bigactive.com
www.thisisluck.com
http://www.principalcolour.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.11.2014

Jobs from the past - Number 35

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 1995.

English Heritage 10th Anniversary Conservation Awards 1994-5
This booklet was comissioned by English Heritage to introduce their 'one off' award as part of English Heritage's 10th Anniversay celebrations. This 'award of awards' was given in conjunction with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors awards.

This modest, yet beautifully produced, piece of literature was to introduce the awards. It is 140mm square format with a 4pp cover and an 8pp text and is 'three hole sewn' in black thread.

Images are printed in Duotone (beautifully) on our uncoated Neptune Unique 250gsm and 135gsm. Printed in black, grey and red (this was back in the days when doing a three colour job was cheaper than CMYK!) The photography is by Phil Sayer and looks as amazing today as it did then.

Detail showing three hole sewing:

Outside back cover showing 'belly-band' printed in silver on a coated silk paper:

It was designed by Atelier Works. Lead Designer was John Powner working with senior designer Annabel Clements.

 

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 "press 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.english-heritage.org.uk/
http://www.philipsayerpartnership.com/

http://www.atelierworks.co.uk/
http://www.annabelclementsdesign.com/

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

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.09.2012