The Orangery

The Orangery is an exclusive wedding venue situated just outside Maidstone in the grounds of the old Turkey Mill, where paper was made for over 200 years. The site now boasts a business park and this stunning wedding location.

 

This is the marketing collateral produced for the venue, which includes the brochure, with inserts, together with compliment slips and business cards.

The brochure size is 230mm square and is saddle stitched. It has a 4pp cover with a 8pp text printed on Omnia 280gsm and 150gsm. The photography supplied by three professional wedding photographers, has reproduced brilliantly on the Omnia as has the light metallic gold solid areas and type. The whole job still has the tactility and natural uncoated feel that was required. The literature has a self-assured look and feel.

Picture below showing half height pocket on inside back cover with three stepped printed inserts on Omnia 200gsm.

Business cards (280gsm) and compliment slips (150gsm) printed in the pale metallic gold on Omnia.

Branding and literature design is by Maidstone based consultancy We are Tangerine. Design director on the project is Claire Hobbs. The printing (which is excellent - the metallic is superb) is by Tunbridge Wells based printer Fox Print.

 

http://theorangerymaidstone.com/weddings/

http://www.turkeymill.com/
www.wearetangerine.co.uk
www.foxprintservices.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 23.01.2014

What is ...Acid Free Paper?

What is ...Number 1
This is the first of my "What is ....? posts. Published in the middle of the month, they will cover various aspects of paper, printing and finishing in greater depth. Many of these subjects are complex, so these posts are intended to be a brief description and summary.

What is ...Acid Free Paper?
It is an unfortunate fact that that no paper and printed literature will last forever. Paper is a 100% natural product which is affected by light and air and can yellow and become brittle over time.

Papers described as "Acid Free" are more resistant to the effects of ageing and will are more suitable for producing literature for archival purposes.

Acid free symbol

Acid free papers can be produced from all kinds of cellulose fibres. The papers made from wood fibre which are best able to resist ageing are manufactured from fully bleached chemical pulp and do not contain any residual lignin. Lignin is the stuff that makes the walls of plant cells strong and it's tough to break down and is acidic by it's nature (it’s like tree sap but is not actually sap). To produce acid free papers it is essential to remove the lignin to trace amounts.

During the papermaking process, 'sizing' is added both internally (in the pulp) and on the surface of the sheet. The purpose of 'sizing' (which is added to most paper types) is to resist the penetration of liquid in the finished product and in the case of printing papers, to assist with printability. The chemicals used in sizing for acid free papers are alkaline in nature and chalk (calcium carbonate) is generally used to size the surface (which is also alkaline). The paper will also be 'buffered' with a solution which prevent changes in the pH. To be regarded as truly "acid free" the end product needs to have a pH value of between 7.5-10.0

Today, the vast majority of  papers produced for the print market are acid-free and this is mainly because paper mills now use chalk (calcium carbonate) rather than china clay as the filler in the manufacturing process. Chalk reacts with acids and therefore the pulp needs to be chemically neutral or alkaline.

Although acid free papers have a longer life and are regarded as 'archival', they are not necessarily regarded as true 'archival papers' ...that maybe a future subject for another  "What is ...."

 

Posted by Justin Hobson 21.01.2014

What is ...?

Several people have suggested it would be good if I could write about various aspects of paper, printing and finishing in greater depth. Articles that take a subject at a time rather than explaining a processs or technique as it may occur in a project. Having said that, many of these subjects would require whole books to describe, so these posts are intended to be a brief description and summary.

It's a lovely idea (and slightly burdensome to write!), so I've decided that I'll make it roughly the middle post in every month. So tomorrow is the first of the "What is...?" posts.

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.01.2014

James Blake Tour Poster - No. 2

This is another, lovely, James Blake poster for the Overgrown Tour...

Size of the posters is 670x485mm and they are printed in four colour process plus one special, offset litho. The beautiful illustration by Cary Kwok has a lot of detail, really dark colours - letterforms made out of entangled branches, so it was essential to keep the detail without everything filling in.

At the same time, in order to work with the illustration a coated paper was not desirable, a more tactile paper was selected. Omnia was chosen because it has all the tactile qualities of an uncoated material but reproduces fine detail and dark colours amazingly. This poster is printed on Omnia White 200gsm.

Design is by Burgess Studio. Creative Director is Alexis Burgess, designer on the project is Ed Cornish. Illustration is by Cary Kwok.

Print is by London based Jigsaw Colour. This poster was printed with no coating (sealer) the result is beautifully flat, matt and tactile -  just how it should be.

http://jamesblakemusic.com/
http://burgess-studio.co.uk/
www.carykwok.com
http://www.jigsawcolour.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 17.01.2014

 

03.11.2014 - I amended this post today. I had wrongly credited another illustrator and amended it today to read Cary Kwok, my apologies.

RBB|Economics - Corporate Brochure



This is the corporate brochure for RBB Economics, a specialist in the field of economics of competition law. This piece of literature demonstrates the company's abilities using a combination of essential facts and figures together with client testimonials.

The size is 232x165mm, portrait. and is singer sewn. It has an 8pp cover and a 16pp text. The cover is printed on our StarFine White 300gsm, which is an uncoated text and cover range. The cover is printed in two specials (blue and green) and the type is blind embossed. Text is printed on our Marazion Ultra 135gsm and is printed offset litho in CMYK plus two specials.

The below picture shows the front cover which is 'blind embossed' and shows the singer sewing with the light green thread. The brochure has an engaging feel, the singer sewing making it feel special with the combination of uncoated and coated materials working well with the content. it's also worth mentioning that the large areas of blue solid has been well printed and looks great which is both testament to the quality of the printing and the papers used (for those not in the know, blue is generally regarded as the hardest colour to print and can be a test to a printer and if the paper isn't up to the job, the result can looked mottled and patchy).

Art direction and design is by Hatton Garden based consultancy, 400. Creative Director is Paul Dennis, designer on the project is Liam Bonar. Print and finishing is by London printer Push.

www.rbbecon.com
www.400.co.uk
www.push-print.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 15.01.2014

Graphic Birdwatching Map

The Graphic Design Walk, organised by Graphic Birdwatching is a combined open studio walk and design exhibition celebrating the work and practise of both local and international female creatives.

Last year's walk (2013) took place over two days in September during the London Design Festival and there were a dozen studios in East London who opened their doors. On registering for the walk, you were given this lovely map to navigate your way around the studios. Size of the map is 420x593mm folding down to 210x132mm.

This year, the map is illustrated and it looks absolutely stunning:

The paper chosen is our Redeem 100% Recycled which is a neutral white recycled paper. It works just beautifully with this illustration. Below picture shows the 65mm flap which provides the index overlaying the map:

On the reverse of the map is information and work of the various studios. The map was printed offset litho and finished by SPM Print who sponsored the printing. Chris Chadbon dealt with the print production.The map is printed on Redeem 100% Recycled 100gsm in CMYK on both sides and we sponsored the paper for the map, as we have in previous years.

 

The map is designed and illustrated by Karolin Schnoor who is one of the Graphic Birdwatching members.



http://www.graphicbirdwatching.com/

www.karolinschnoor.co.uk

http://www.spmprint.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 13.01.2014

Matt Cant ...do without his diary!

Matt Cant is a photographer based in Wales and the Fenner Paper diary is part of his 'must have' equipment. He kindly got in touch this year, together with a picture showing the well used diaries that he's used over the years!

Thanks Matt.

Have a look at his blog and website:
www.mattcant.blogspot.com/
www.mattcant.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 09.01.2014