The Old Sorting House

The origins of the Old Sorting House in Islington, London, are both rich and varied. An intriguing mix of businesses have graced this imposing building, but it is the original use as the Northern District Post Office, opened in 1858 which fires the imagination. The building was recently put up for sale and this is the excellent sales literature which was created by Everything In Between.

Click on images to enlarge

The size of the brochure is 250x190mm, portrait and as you can see from the above image, there is a superb blind embossing on the front cover

This is a relatively unusual design, which works superbly. As you will notice in the above image, it has a square spine, which houses a saddle stitched text, however there is also another text section housed in the inside front cover. The cover is a 6pp and this text is under the flap that forms the 6pp, so in the image below, showing the open brochure, you are faced with two separate contents, one on left and right. 

The image below, has the cover of the left hand content open...

Click on images to enlarge

The left hand book, which explains and shows the history of the building is a 12pp text and the main book on the right hand side is a 48pp. It is printed on our Redeem 100% Recycled 315gsm cover and the text is all printed on a 130gsm.

Redeem 100% Recycled is a very neutral white shade and has an 'aged' look and feel to it, which is one of the reasons that it was chosen for this publication and it really works, but not only with the historical images (above) but it works just as well with the CGI's (below)

In the centre of the main brochure is a double gatefold allowing for a superb, wide image.

Click on images to enlarge

It might surprise you to know that this project is digitally printed, however as you may have noticed, the centre throw-out measures 760mm wide, so, the only way to produce this is on the HP Indigo 10000 presses, which prints a B2 sheet. Although Redeem is not a 'digital' paper, it has been Sapphire Treated to make it compatible with HP Indigo printing. 

Below shows the superb square spine, where you can just about see the saddle stitching, which is perfectly situated on the crease at the back of the spine.

Brochure and website design is by London consultancy, Everything in  Between. Arran Scott-Lidgett is creative director and the designer on the project was Katie Alger.

Print production is by Pureprint and there's no question that this job is superb. Beautifully printed and bound, productions like this make the case for clients using print. All the information in the publication could (and is) supplied digitally, but this piece of literature is and will be a piece of history.

https://e-i-b.com/ 

https://www.pureprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 17.03.2021

Jobs from the past - Number 135

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. 

Mr P  by MR PORTER 2017

          

Stylish, yet understated. Simple, but full of detail MR PORTER launched their own label in 2017. "We’ve thought: if only fashion could be a bit more... reliable. This is where the new Mr P. label comes in. It not only embraces current trends, but proposes a permanent collection of new classics that belong in every man’s wardrobe. We’ve worked hard to create superior versions of garments that you know and love, from the perfect T-shirt, to an ultra-fine cashmere sweater, to a coat that you can throw on like a cardigan, and a selection of Japanese denim"

This superb piece of literature is the launch look-book. Size is 262 x196mm, portrait and is 'Sussex bound' with 2000micron greyboard mounted to make the cover, with deboss on the front cover. 150gsm 40pp

The 40pp text is printed offset litho in CMYK on Omnia, White 150gsm and as I hope you can see, the result is superb...

Click on images to enlarge

As always (...this is the plug for the paper!) the images look amazing on the Omnia; the fleshtones in particular look absolutely stunning (see below) and the reproduction of the dark shadowy areas (see above) look amazing - keeping all the detail in those heavy areas of CMYK together which would be completely lost on a traditional uncoated paper.

There is a series of profiles and an essay by David Mitchell (below) - with illustration by Paula Bulling

Click on images to enlarge

Below shows a detail of the section sewing and the 'sussex binding' 

Graphice design is by Lauren Chalmers. The excellent print and binding is by Pureprint.

https://www.mrporter.com/

https://www.studio-lp.com/

https://www.pureprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 03.02.2021

Charleston Press No.2

Nestled in the South Downs, Charleston was the country meeting place for the writers, painters and thinkers known as the Bloomsbury group. Now run by the Charleston Trust, the house is an excellent museum and visitor attraction, presented to look as it did when the family lived here in the 1950's. The walled garden was created by the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant to designs by Roger Fry and features Mediterranean influences with plants chosen for their intense colour and silver foliage. These became the subject of many works over their long residence at Charleston.

Published by the Charleston Trust, the Charleston Press includes includes newly commissioned essays exploring the themes, artists and stories of the exhibitions and programmes at Charleston, as well as articles marking important Bloomsbury anniversaries and events. This is the second issue and I wrote about the first issue here.

Size is 220x170mm, portrait and is perfect bound. The publication has an 8pp 'dustjacket' around the cover as you can see from the birdseye image below...

The below image shows the book (with the Colorset Solar cover) out of the dustjacket (100mm flaps) plus the wrap-around belly-band.

The 4pp cover, which is secreted under the dustjacket, is produced on our Colorset Solar (100% Recycled) 270gsm and is unprinted, being simply, but beautifully, debossed.

The 68pp text is printed on our Omnia 120gsm. The reason that Omnia was chosen is because it would beautifully reproduce the wide variety of different media, the artworks, solid colours and dark photography and most importantly feel special - with the reproduction that you would expect on a silk or gloss but with a natural tactile uncoated feel.

As a journal of essays and images inspired by the Charleston exhibitions titled In Colour, this is a very colourful issue with essays by Dr Darren Clarke, Professor Mary Ann Caws, Anne Starmer, Dr Alexandra Loske and interviews with Cressida Bell and Annie Sloan.

 Quotes on Colour combines images (Green, Blue, Gold and Grey) with quotations from Virginia Woolf's work which makes for a very powerful and engaging article...

The wrap around bellyband (70mm high) which tucks into the book, is printed on our Sixties 60gsm and because of the translucency, the background image shows through beautifully.

...you can see the level of show through in the detail image below.

Below image shows the 6mm spine, the perfect binding. The jacket is printed on Omnia 150gsm.

The reproduction on the Omnia is just something else, the level of detail and reproduction is superb as you can see the image below.

The publication is designed by Playne Design who have studios in London and Hastings. Creative Director is Clare Playne with production is handled by Simon Hack. Print production is by Pureprint. Like the first edition, this is an excellent example of a beautifully designed and well executed piece of print, entirely right for the subject. The publication is available for sale (at a very reasonable £5) HERE

https://www.charleston.org.uk/
http://www.playnedesign.co.uk/
https://www.pureprint.com/ 

Posted by Justin Hobson 29.07.2020

Shakies go Green...

James Ellis are a greeting card publisher who have been publishing their own ranges of cards since 1997. Based in Bristol, they actually print and make all their cards in the UK (so no horrible carbon footprint to China!). You'll find their ranges of cards in Paperchase, Waitrose, Harrods and John Lewis and all good card shops! 

They’ve been manufacturing their 'shakies' cards since 2003 and they have undergone quite a few style changes, but items shaking around within the card idea has more or less remained the same.

In an effort to be as environmentally friendly as possible, the latest change has been to ditch the plastic panel on the front of the card which forms the pocket for the shakeable items to move in. By removing the plastic and replacing it with a translucent paper, which is itself printed, the appearance of the card has changed little but is now recyclable. The paper chosen for this job is our Spectral, Digital White 110gsm from the Reflex Paper Mill in Germany.

...and you can see the way the coloured paper discs move around.

The size of the card is 176x127mm and the board which form the cards and the window are from our Dali range. If you aren't familiar with the Dali range, it is a 'felt-marked' paper with a linear effect and a natural, tactile feel. If you click on the image below, you will be able to see the texture in the paper.

Click on images to enlarge

...and you can see (above) the printing on the translucent Spectral. The digital printing is by Pureprint on their HP Indigo presses and the result is superb.

To make the cards as green as possible, they have eradicated the use of glitter, the plastic and replaced the outer bag by applying a peelable pricing label.

James Ellis have also signed up for 1% for the Planet scheme where companies commit to giving 1% of their turnover to environmental non-profit organisations.

This card is designed by Katherine Hartley and my thanks to James for sharing these new samples with me.

https://www.jamesellis.com/ 
https://www.pureprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 23.06.2020

Beaming

This is a really lovely piece of sales literature designed to work as a handout or a mailing piece. It has a lovely quality feel and is produced with high production values which show throughout.

Beaming is an established Internet Service Provider for businesses across the UK. They deliver reliable voice and data services and provide ongoing support ...and they're not afraid to say that they think they're the best!

The finished size is 210x128mm, portrait and the content is 12pp. Below is a birdseye view showing the way that it opens in the conventional way...

...and the below image shows the way the 8pp inner "text" concertina's into a 4pp "cover" which has been formed by parallel creases.

 ...and below is the parallel crease which forms the spine

Spine, as below (without the inner pages concertina'd inside)

The flat size is 210 x 760mm and below shows the outside, spread flat...

...and the inside

The material chosen for the publication is our Omnia in 200gsm and is printed offset litho in CMYK. For those readers not familiar with Omnia, it is an uncoated paper with a surface treatment. What this means is that it feels like an uncoated paper but because the surface treatment minimises 'dot-gain', the print result is much more like that of a coated silk or gloss coated paper. You can see the result - the solid red looks so vibrant and the tactile quality really works with the illustrations. Omnia also has a high bulk, so although this is only a 12pp it feels much more substantial.

It is a simple format and because it has been produced and finished superbly, it is beautiful. The publication is designed by Playne Design who have studios in London and Hastings. Creative Director is Clare Playne with production is handled by Simon Hack. The excellent printing and finishing is by Pureprint.

https://www.beaming.co.uk/
https://playnedesign.co.uk/
https://www.pureprint.com/ 

Posted by Justin Hobson 05.06.2020