What is ...Film Lamination?

What is ...Number 6
Regular followers of this blog will know that in the middle of the month, I publish a "What is ....? post. The article covers various aspects of paper, printing and finishing in greater depth. However, many of these subjects are complex, so these posts are only intended to be a brief introduction to the topic.

What is ...Film Lamination?

Film lamination is frequently used in printed literature, but few people give much thought to exactly what it is and the process, so I shall try and tell you a little about it...

The terms "gloss lam" and "matt lam" are the terms most often used to describe film lamination. Basically the process involves gluing an extremely thin layer of transparent plastic to the surface of a sheet, most often used on the covers of brochures, leaflets and books. This thin layer of plastic provides an incredible amount of strength and protects the paper substrate from being damaged or scuffed.

The type of film usually used for this process is called OPP, which stands for Oriented Poly Propylene. The film thicknesses are generally between 12 to 30 microns, so really very,very thin. I have photographed a piece of this gossamer like material to give you an idea of how thin it is.

The film comes in a continuous roll, which is mounted on a laminating machine. Sheets pass through the machine and are covered with the plastic layer over the whole area of the sheet. There are different methods of applying the polypropelene, it can either be applied by a wet glue or by heat, which is called thermal film. Thermal films, already have the glue applied, held in microcapsules which are activated by heat. To the normal onlooker, there is no noticeable difference in the result between the two application methods.

Below is a picture of a laminating machine, where you can see the roll of laminating film and the sheets passing through under it:


Image courtesy of Autobond

So who actually does the lamination? There are a few printers who have their own laminating machines 'in-house' although most film lamination carried out in the design and corporate market is sent out by the printer to a 'trade laminator'. These are companies which just specialise in the area of lamination and 'print finishing', an example is a company called Reflections in London(http://www.reflections.co.uk/)

The vast majority of lamination is gloss lamination or matt lamination, although that is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is actually available.

In transparent films there are a wide range of other finishes, such as Silk, Soft-Touch, Antiscuff, Embossed (leather, linen, pearl etc) as well as a range of biodegradeable and environmentally friendly options. Below is an image of the swatch from one of the suppliers of laminating films, so you can tell from this, just how many types of films are available:

www.graphicimagefilms.co.uk
 

There are also holographic films available and below is an example of an invitation which has been printed CMYK and then film laminated with a transparent holographic film. Very effective!

Printed by: www.principalcolour.co.uk
 

As well as transparent films, there are also metallised polyester films. These are essentially the same type of product but slightly thicker (30/40 microns) and not transparent. As well as different colours (matt and gloss) they can also incorporate holographic and iridescent finishes. The picture above shows a selection of different finishes that are available in these laminating films:

Film Lamination is an incredibly important process used in the print industry. Although it is often perceived negatively because you are effectively putting a piece (even though it is thin) of plastic (which however you look at it is manufactured from fossil fuels) onto a natural product (paper). However it should be remembered that if by applying the film, the publication lasts longer and is used for longer then the environmental impact is somewhat mitigated. Unfortunately it is far harder to recycle printed matter that has been film laminated as the paper and plastic needs to be separated.

Thanks to Graphic Image Films for providing me with samples which helped me write this piece.

www.graphicimagefilms.co.uk
www.autobondlaminating.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 19.06.2014

Central St Martins - Degree Show 2014

Yesterday evening I was invited to the private view of the Central St Martins Degree Shows at their (nearly new) Kings Cross home. It was a beautiful evening and the show was well attended, laid out on the ground, first and second floors.


The two departments where I spent most time were the BA Graphic Design and the MA Communication Design.

It was a very busy show with lots of thought-provoking work on display. Interesting (for me) to see just how many final projects still involve paper and printing.

 

Here was one particularly colourful project titled 'The Jungle Book' by Kat Garner which not only involved paper but also clear coloured transparent film and Perspex. www.katgarner.co.uk

Thanks to all the tutors and people I know at CSM for the kind invitation and a chance to see the work of the new graduates.

Posted by Justin Hobson 18.06.2014

The Fold - Autumn Winter

The Fold is a contemporary new British womenswear label "...that embraces and inspires the modern, professional woman. The collection defines 24/7 dressing through versatile pieces that are designed to create a clean, modern aesthetic." Interestingly, all the garments are manufactured in Europe. The Fold has a showroom in Clerkenwell together with an online shop.

This is the Autumn/Winter lookbook, which is a charming piece literature. The size is A5 (210x148mm, portrait) saddle stitched with a 4pp cover and 32pp text.

The text paper used is our Omnia White, 150gsm and the print result is simply superb. As you can see from the images, there are large, flat solid colours which have a great depth of colour combined with smaller images where the reproduction of fine detail is essential.

The Fold - Packaging

Art director and designer on the project is Emily Chicken at Kensington based Peep Studio. Emily also dealt with brand refreshment, art direction and this beautiful custom illustrated packaging.

Printing is by the Absolute Group who are based in Walthamstow in London.

www.thefoldlondon.com
www.peepstudio.co.uk
http://www.theabsolute.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 16.06.2014

Our Clouded Hills

This is the literature produced for Rossi & Rossi for the contemporary art fair ART14 held in London earlier this year. Titled as "Our Clouded Hills" they presented an exhibition of paintings by three Tibetan artists: Gade, Tenzing Rigdol and Tsherin Sherpa. Their works incorporate traditional Tibetan and Buddhist symbolism and techniques to comment on issues faced by Tibet, its inhabitants, and the Tibetan Diaspora.

 

This simple but effective publication is A5, portrait and is 8pp gatefold format. It is printed on Astralux [1sided] 250gsm in Silver. Printed one colour, special, on the outside (on the grey) and CMYK on the inside. Astralux is a 'Cast coated' board and if you aren't sure what that is, you can read a previous post, where I've explained what cast coated papers are:

http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/what-is-cast-coated-paper.html

Front Cover

Showing gatefold

The outside of the cover

Inside spread

Designer is Michael Windsor-Ungureanu of Thread Design. This is a great example of where a simple/different use of a material has been used to enhance the overall quality and feel of a piece of literature.

Print production is by Tower Printing, based in Peckham.

http://www.rossirossi.com/
www.threaddesign.co.uk

http://www.towerprinting.net/ 

Posted by Justin Hobson 11.06.2014

Award success for Freytag Anderson

Congratulations to Freytag Anderson. At the annual Scottish Design awards held last week in Glasgow, Freytag Anderson walked away with four awards including Scottish Design Agency of the Year 2014.

 

The annual event was judged by an esteemed panel including Innocent Drinks Dan Germain, Lewis Moberly’s Mary Lewis, Stephen Royle of The Chase and Smith & Milton’s Steven Anderson.

Photography courtesy of Nick Creed/The Drum

The annual event hosted by The Drum celebrates the best in Scottish design. Held at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu, they were awarded the Chairman’s Award for Design, Best Corporate Identity, Best Packaging design and the aformentioned Scottish Design Agency of the Year. Have a look at their great work for yourselves: http://www.scottishdesignawards.com/results

 

It was lovely to receive an email saying the following "This is an incredible result for a business as young as ours and off course we couldn't have done it without the help of our great clients, studio collaborators Matt Burns, Shaun Woods and Liam Rutherford, our suppliers, family and friends. We'd like to take this opportunity to say thanks to you all."

 

Freytag Anderson have appeared on this blog many times and we are pleased to have worked with them on projects including their lovely work for the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. Congratulations to Daniel and Greig for this fantastic achievement

 

www.freytaganderson.com

www.scottishdesignawards.com

http://www.thedrum.com/

 

ALSO - The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were also honoured for their heroic efforts to save the majority of the Glasgow School of Art's iconic Mackintosh building and its contents after a fire in late May - well done to all the lads and lassies involved.

Posted by Justin Hobson 10.06.2014

 

American Trilogy by Ernesto Cánovas at Halcyon Gallery

This has to be one of the best printed items that I've seen this year. This is not just because it's printed on one of our papers (!) but because I went to see the exhibition and having seen the works for myself, I can appreciate just how good the catalogue that represents the work is.

The Halcyon Gallery was founded in 1982 and specialises in modern and contemporary art, concentrating on emerging and established international artists. They represent  Dale Chihuly, Lorenzo Quinn, David Wightman, Eve Arnold and Bob Dylan amongst others. Halcyon now have three art galleries in London and one in Shanghai. They are also involved in public art and currently have an amazing Dale Chihuly glass sculpture exhibited for public view in Berkeley Square.

This catalogue is for an exhibition by Spanish born artist, Ernesto Cánovas. The exhibition is titled 'An American Trilogy' and depicts a vision of America from the perspective of an outsider. The artist now works from a studio in London, where these artworks were produced employing a multi-layered practice of painting, drawing, printmaking and photography.

The size of the book is 290x240mm, portrait. It is case-bound with a 'paper over board' cover with an image 'tipped on' to the cover. The 108pp text is printed on our Omnia 150gsm and the paper just looks and feels totally right with the images.

This beautifully art directed catalogue is designed and produced at the Halcyon Gallery. Designer on this project is Alfie Hunter and in his note to me about the project he says "In this case, I used Omnia hoping the uncoated feel would sympathise with the worn and reworked effect on the paintings without saturating the colour or compromising the clarity in detail of the artworks" ...well it certainly does that!



One or two spreads showing the artist at work:

The cover is traditionally bound to emulate the nostalgia of the 1950's America that the exhibition portrays. This is finished off with a rounded spine and to contrast, a bright head/tail bands to pick up the artist's injection of vivid colour which features throughout his work.

Print production is by Pureprint and is exceptional. The repro and printing is superb and the quality of the binding equally impressive.

 

The exhibition finished on 26th May, so unfortunately you will have to make do with the following link: www.halcyongallery.com/exhibitions/ernesto-canovas-an-american-trilogy

www.halcyongallery.com
www.pureprint.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.06.2014

University of Portsmouth Graduate Show 2014

Last week, I had a lovely surprise when I opened my post to find not one but four posters for the University of Portsmouth graduate show!

The invitations and posters for the show are designed by Michael Harkins who is not only senior Lecturer but is also the course leader of the MA Graphic Design course.

He kindly wrote a few words about the project for me: The posters represent part of a wider identity for the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries 2014 Graduate Show. This celebrates the opening of a new building allowing all four schools of the Faculty to be housed in single creative campus. The brief was to create a single identity that would unify, whilst retaining individual identity for each of the schools. The theme was based on ‘bringing together’. Initially a bespoke typeface was created consisting of four elemental parts. Each of the schools are represented by one of the geometric shapes. When combined form the identity SHOW 2014.

The posters are all A1 size (841x594mm) and are printed offset litho in CMYK on one side only. The paper used is our Redeem 100% Recycled 130gsm, which has a neutral white shade and recycled tone. Here they are on display in the Eldon building.

There are also four A5 invitations, mirroring the design on the posters, which are printed on Redeem 100% Recycled 315gsm

Printing is by L&S Printing who are based in Worthing. Thanks to Mike for sending file copies and his kind note

The show is open all this week at the Eldon Building at University of Portsmouth, ending on Friday 6th June, so you'd better get done there quickly!

www.port.ac.uk

www.ls-printing.com

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.06.2014