The Power of Creativity

This is a limited edition poster produced by Johnson Banks. Originally produced for the D&AD 50 Auction, the original posters were 2 huge giclée prints.

In JB's own words "This project stems from a brief to design a D&AD Annual Cover on the theme of ‘The Power of Creativity’. Rather than show examples of creativity, the poster collects 99 examples from the last 500 years and describes each of them. The ideas cover all areas of art, design, architecture, film-making, product design and invention, and describes breakthroughs from those as well known as Einstein and Jobs, to the almost-forgotten names that invented the postage stamp"

To make them available to a wider audience, they have produced a limited edition of 200 copies. It’s printed offset litho in 3 colours and the size is 1000x666mm.

The posters have been produced on our Omnia 200gsm, so that it has a tactile uncoated feel (and not a glossy/coated look) but reproduces exquisitely with a rich, rich black which makes the reversed out type really pop out.

The posters are printed by Gavin Martin Colournet, beautifully ...and as you can see from the picture below, they also made a nice job of packing them!

They are available to purchase from the studio here:

http://johnsonbanks.co.uk/shop/power-of-creativity-poster/

 

www.johnsonbanks.co.uk

www.gavinmartincolournet.co.uk

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.04.2104





Jobs from the past - Number 54

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...



The Republic of Letters - Winter 2009

News from The Republic of Letters is a literary broadsheet. This is issue 20,  published jointly by The Republic of Letters and Sylph Editions. The journal was founded in 1997 by writers Saul Bellow and Keith Botsford, with each issue consisting of texts from both new and established authors. These vary from full-length novellas to short texts and poetry. Edited by Keith Botsford.

The size is 300x235mm, portrait and is a 24pp self-cover. The publication is all printed offset litho in one colour only (black) on our Offenbach Bible 60gsm...

Click on images to enlarge

...and it looks and feels absolutely gorgeous - it flops and folds in a delightful way when handling the publication.

Click on images to enlarge

There are many posts on this blog, showing work printed on Offenbach Bible which has lots of four colour, solid colours and really demanding printing. Arguably, this job, with black type printed both sides, is exactly what the Offenbach Bible is produced for. Genuine bible papers, are produced with exceptional opacity, good strength and archival quality. This publication shows just how good the opacity is and is just as demanding as many jobs which are covered in colour and images. The type looks exquisite - surely the combination of the typeface, the printing and the paper.

There are superb illustrations throughout the magazine by Izhar Cohen, detail below...

The project is designed and art directed by Ornan Rotem and Num Stibbe at Sylph Editions.

Print production was by Print Station and the job was printed (and very neatly finished) by Typecast Colour in Paddock Wood, Kent.

http://www.sylpheditions.com/
http://izharcohen.com/
http://www.typecast.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 02.04.2014

Parliamentary Select Committee

I can now report that yesterday I was privileged to have appeared before MP's at the Houses of Parliament before a  sub-committee for Culture Media and Sport.

The committee wanted to hear from people in the industry about the effect of digital communications on the paper industry and I was invited because I'm on the board of  the Alliance for Paper Related Industry Legislation (APRIL).

It was an interesting and somewhat overwhelming experience but nevertheless, a great honour.

The hearing was chaired by Flora Pilo, the Welsh MP for Rialofpol and below is the official picture - I'm the one on the far right with my left hand up (...had to be an official photo as "selfies" aren't allowed!)

I appeared alongside Joe Kerr, the Managing Director of print company Polar Foil and Haime Jester, consultant from paper industry research specialists Head Heaven Buoy (HHB)

As this is only a minor sub-committee, the notes in Hansard (parliament's own publishing house) will not appear until later in the month and I'm not permitted to discuss the hearing until publication, but the report being compiled by online editors, Opal Firlo, should make for interesting reading - I'll let you know when it's published.

www.parliament.uk/

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/



Posted by Justin Hobson 01.04.2014

Caesarstone - Design Inspirations

This is a striking look-book for stone company Caesarstone, a brand that is an innovative pioneer of quartz surfaces. They collaborated with trend forecasters FranklinTill to edit and design this inaugural publication which shows a curated selection of stones and materials and the possibilities for the future.

The book is a casebound (hardback) book, which is "Quarter bound" (that is the way to describe the bookcloth which wraps around the spine). Size of the publication is 280x220mm, portrait and has a 64pp text. The cover paper is printed CMYK on Omnia 150gsm and is hot foil blocked in matt grey foil with a Colorado cloth in grey around the spine. The text is also printed on Omnia throughout.

The slightly unusual thing to mention about the text is that it is sewn in sections, but each section is made up using 12pp of Omnia 150gsm with a 4pp section on 200gsm wrapped around the 12pp, making a 16pp section in total. The purpose of the heavier 4pp weight is to provide "divider" sections, on which colour palette is printed. The other thing to add is the 200gsm pages are printed CMYK plus a gloss UV varnish over the colour palette areas (below)

Omnia was chosen for this project because the nature of the stone surfaces required a tactile material, without any loss of detail in the reproduction. As you can see from these pictures, there's loads of ink going down and it looks great on the Omnia, reproducing bright vibrant colours as well and keeping all the detail in the darker images, especially the smaller detail shots below ...and of course, Omnia is one of the very few papers with an uncoated look and feel that you can successfully use with UV varnish in one pass and get a great result.

This is an exquisitely produced piece of literature, the design, photography, print and binding being of the highest quality.

The research, editing and design is by FranklinTill. Creative directors are Kate Franklin and Caroline Till and the designers on the project are Laura Gordon and Graham Tait.

The superb print is by Push, handled by Danny Kirk.

 

www.caesarstone.com

www.franklintill.com

http://www.push-print.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 28.03.2014

The only paper company at IPEX!

Further to my post about IPEX (International Printing Exhibition) last week, it may interest you to know that this week I find that I am now at the exhibition all week!

I was contacted by our friends at the St. Brides Foundation and offered a space to display our products on their stand, which we gratefully accepted. It was lovely to be offered a great opportunity which we didn't want to miss out on, so I put together a stand to show our various paper ranges and set up for the week long exhibition.

On Monday, it struck me that there wasn't one other paper company at the exhibition, not one! Not a paper mill, agent or paper merchant in sight ...with the exception of Fenner Paper! Having conducted a quick bit of research, it seems that there have been paper companies at every IPEX since 1880!

 

My first IPEX was in 1988 when I was on the Scheufelen stand for the James McNaughton Paper Group. As in previous and subsequent years, there were many paper mills from around the world exhibiting and paper and print were in harmony! ...by that, I mean that there was an appreciation that you couldn't have a printing exhibition without something to print on!

 

I'm pleased that we were able to step forward and make sure that this wasn't the first paperless IPEX in history. If you are visiting ExCeL this week, please come and see us on stand N1 B130.

 

www.ipex.org

http://www.stbride.org/

Posted by Justin Hobson 26.03.2014

Working The Land



This is a striking looking invitation for an exhibition held last year. Emerging Architects is a series of events run by Buro Happold to promote and expose the work of some of the world’s most imaginative and engaging new architects. This exhibition, Working The Land, showcases the work of Haptic Architects.

 

Haptic, says, “Working the Land’ presents some of the recent work of Haptic through a variety of mediums; from traditional architectural images and drawings to an interactive installation entitled “Light Touch”. The exhibition provides an insight into Haptic’s ethos, to work carefully and strategically with the site context, whilst focusing on materiality and craftsmanship.”

The invitation is 285mm square and is printed in two pantone colours, green and grey. It is further complimented by the wonderful deep embossing...

It is printed on our Matrisse 350gsm, which has a high bulk and is ideal for embossing as it gives a perfectly crisp embossed finish

You can read more about the event here:
http://www.burohappold.com/knowledge-and-news/article/emerging-architects-1738/

Design is by BOB Design in London. Creative Director is Mireille Burkhardt.

Print and the superb embossing is by Benwells in London.

http://www.hapticarchitects.co.uk/

http://www.burohappold.com/

http://www.bobdesign.co.uk/
http://www.benwells.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 24.03.201

IPEX 2014 in London

On Monday, IPEX 2014 opens its doors at ExCeL in London. Ipex  stands for International Printing Exhibition and is the largest UK printing, media and publishing event. It attracts visitors from all over the world and has a massive selection of printing equipment and associated machinery.

Here's some of the organiser's blurb.... For pre-press, there will be new market software solutions for colour management, variable data printing, web-to-print, integrated communication solutions and design. On the print production side, there are digital printing product launches for inkjet, inkjet label, inkless photo and 5-colour LED A3 printing, as well as new document mailing solutions and converting and feeding technologies. New systems will also be showcased for the full range of finishing techniques, including laminating, foiling, folding, booklet-making, binding, cutting and more, in addition to new solutions for machine maintenance and consumables, with a wide range of new inks and substrates being showcased. In short there’s a lot to see this year. If you plan to make the most of your visit, then doing a little homework in advance will pay dividends ...

Next week will be a busy week in the printing industry, trying to find time to get along to the exhibition and see the shiny new machines. If you get a chance, it's well worth a visit.
www.ipex.org

To put a historical context to it, the first show was less snappily titled "Exhibition and Market of Machinery, Implements and Material Used by Printers, Stationers, Papermakers and Kindred Trades". It was held in 1880 (5-17 July) at the Agricultural Hall in London.

The Official Catalogue of Exhibits is a complete catalogue of the traders and products that featured in an exhibition listing the 200 exhibitors. The catalogue's editor, journalist Lucien Wolf (1857-1930), prefaces it with an informative overview of trade exhibitions, examining their history and future, and their role in bringing together producers, retailers, buyers, wholesalers and importers to assess competition, compare products and evaluate the state and progress of their trades.

The book is now available as a re-print through the Cambridge University press. 

 

http://www.cambridge.org/gr/academic/subjects/literature/printing-and-publishing-history/exhibition-and-market-machinery-implements-and-material-used-printers-stationers-papermakers-and-kindred-trades-official-catalogue-exhibits

 

www.ipex.org

Posted by Justin Hobson 20.03.2014