Jobs from the past - Number 70

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...

Splash of Paint - 1999
"Why not go out on a limb... that’s where the fruit is" is a quotation from Mark Twain and forms the introduction for this excellent piece of print from over fifteen years ago. Splash of Paint are a design consultancy based just outside Reading and this was their promotional brochure produced in 1999.  

Click on images to enlarge

Size is 330x240mm portrait. The brochure is printed on our Neptune Unique SoftWhite and is just a beautiful piece of print. It has a 16pp text on 155gsm and a 6pp cover on 250gsm, but more about that later!

The brochure is three hole sewn but with a difference ...there are two banks of thread, making it six hole sewn in total! The thread is a natural colour.

One of the things that I'm sure you will be able to see from these pictures is just how exceptional the image reproduction is. The retouching is credited as being by Film Creative Services but I can't seem to find them online. The publication is printed offset litho in four colour process and the result is superb, it looks just as fresh and vibrant now as it did back then.

Earlier I mentioned it was a 6pp cover (with a difference). The extra flap is on the inside back cover but it is pasted down, which not only adds extra weight to the cover but allows the die cut tabs to pop out to hold either an A4 letterhead or card. Smart idea!

Below picture shows the exterior shot of the binding:

Design is by Splash of Paint and the creative director is Malcolm Hatton. Print production was by Alex MacLennan who is now a partner at Urban Print Support.

The project was printed  by a west London company called Fernedge, who were an excellent print company in their day. Pippa Redmond (Mustoe) was Managing Director at Fernedge. They ceased trading, having become Image Litho, in around 2003.

This brochure is exceptionally well printed and is still one of the best samples on Neptune Unique SoftWhite that I have in my collection. From my recent contact with Judith Evans at Splash of Paint, they still consider it as one of their favourites as well!

http://www.splashofpaint.com/

http://www.urbanprintsupport.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.08.2015

Jobs from the past - Number 18

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. So now all the April Foolery is over, here's the first serious post of the month...

V&A Annual Review 2001-2

This is the Annual (or bi-annual) review published by the V&A. It was an exciting time in the V&A's history as the new British galleries had just been opened in late 2001 and there was a lot of activity at the museum. Visitor numbers were up (breaking a record in 2002) and the outlook was extremely positive.

This review is 330x240mm, portrait, saddle stitched and is 4pp cover with a 28pp text. It is printed (as I recall) as a tritone - using a green, a grey and a black but with type also in a pale red (still a job using four colours).

It goes without saying that the V&A has an amazing collection of art and objects and this report makes the very best use of the subject with excellent art direction and photography.

The publication is designed by Johnson Banks. Creative director was Michael Johnson and the superb photography is by Philip Gatward. The above spreads convey some of the powerful images and space that has been created. The images work incredibly well in the tri-tone with rich, rich blacks and the muted red. The format works well with the material, the pages open nicely and it is pleasingly tactile.

The job was printed on our Neptune Unique (white) 250gsm and 135gsm. It was printed by a west London company called Fernedge (v.good in their day) who have sinced ceased trading. Pippa Redmond (Mustoe) who was MD at Fernedge, now runs the Kall Kwik franchise in Norwich! (http://www.kallkwik.co.uk/norwich/aboutus.cfm). It is exceptionally well printed and still constitues one of the best samples on Neptune Unique that I have in my collection.

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

http://www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/

http://www.philipgatward.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 05.04.2011