Zanders Mill closes

There is very sad news that Zanders, the German papermaker has closed. Zanders has been known for its high gloss, cast coated Chromolux range of paper, label papers, and board of which we are the stockist and UK distributor. The mill has been badly hit by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in a decline in sales.

You can read the whole article (including quotes from me!) here: https://www.printweek.com/news/article/end-of-the-line-for-historic-papermaker

Zanders was founded by Johann Wilhelm Zanders in Bergisch Gladbach in 1829 and the Zanders family and name was a major force in the German paper industry until the 1980's when 'merger mania' meant the large groups in the industry were just getting bigger and bigger. Designers and printers working in the 70's 80's and 90's will remember the reputation of the Ikono range with Ikonofix and Ikonorex which were exceptional high quality 'real art' coated art papers which were then joined by the well marketed MegaMatt in the 1990's. The UK agent during that period was John Heyer Paper, who some people may remember.

Yet another very sad day in the paper industry...

PLEASE NOTE: The Reflex Paper Mill which used to be part of Zanders is a separate mill, also based in Cologne and they are nothing to do with Zanders and are not affected. They produce the Zeta range, Trevi label papers and Spectral translucent papers.

Posted by Justin Hobson 10.05.2021

Lemon Tree Business Cards

LemonTree are a cleaning company based in the South East ...and they are a cleaning company with an environmental ethos. Only businesses with the highest standards of social and environmental performance are eligible for a B Corps certificate and LemonTree is on the path to B Corp full Certification, which certifies companies worldwide, because of the positive impact on customers, workers, community and the environment. This is their lovely Business Card...

The size is 55 x 85mm and it is printed on our Crush Kiwi made by Favini in Italy. Crush is made partly using the residue from the industrial processing of crushed citrus fruit, coffee, nuts, olives, kiwi, corn, lavender cherries and grapes, these agro-industrial "end of life" products replacing up to 15% of conventional tree pulp. This is combined with 40% recycled fibres (post consumer waste) and the remainder is FSC virgin pulp and the product is FSC certified. The range is produced using green energy and is carbon balanced at the mill gate (we can also supply the paper in the UK, certified as carbon balanced).  

The card is digitally printed by MTA on their HP Indigo press. It has been printed with a white layer first with the yellow printing on top which makes the colors, especially the vivid yellow really pop!

As you can see from the image below, the Crush Kiwi has inclusions in the paper which are visible. The paper was chosen because of it's environmental pedigree and that the shade of pale green really worked with the identity.

The card is printed on Crush Kiwi 250gsm, which has then been duplexed to make 500gsm.

Design is by Imagist, a brand consultancy based in London and the design is by Rose Cornish.

https://www.lemontreeservices.co.uk/

https://www.imagistlondon.com/

https://www.mtadigital.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.05.2021

Jobs from the past - Number 138

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 projects from years gone by and here's one from 2008. 

Tate St Ives - Summer 2008

I've written many posts on this blog which includes the phrase "...just the cover makes the difference" and the cover on this pocket guide is just superb. It is printed offset litho on our Colorset Lime 120gsm, in just one colour.

Click on images to enlarge

The size is A6 (148x105mm) portrait and is saddle stitched. It has a 4pp cover and 24pp text printed on an uncoated 120gsm, again the text is also just printed in 1 colour. For those of you not familiar with this collection, Colorset now has 36 colours and all colours are available in 120, 270 and 350gsm. Below shows the inside front cover...

Click on images to enlarge

For a little pocket guide, this has an excellent feel and flows nicely in the hand. This an excellent example of a project which is quite a long run and has been produced in a cost effective way, but the use of a self coloured cover (which will always be more expensive than a white paper) has massively raised the quality level of the publication.

Design is by Practise. Originally founded in London by James Goggin and Shan James in 1999, Practise is now based between Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand) and Providence, Rhode Island (United States)

Sadly I can't recall who printed this project, but if you can, please let me know!

https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives

https://www.practise.co.uk/

Posted by Justin Hobson 04.05.2021

Rathfinny Map

Husband and wife, Mark and Sarah Driver, established the Rathfinny Wine Estate in 2010 on a working arable farm with the express intention of producing some of the world’s finest quality sparkling wines. Today, the vines cover 600-acres of the Sussex South Downs and is set to become one of the largest single vineyards in Europe. Pentagram devised the brand strategy and visual identity.

Visitors to the estate are supplied with this map, which gives directions and points of interest about the vineyard and countryside. This publication is designed by London based studio UTILE.

Click on images to enlarge

The finished size is A6 (148x105mm) folding out to A3 (297x420mm) and is printed offset litho in four colour process.

Above and below images show the map-fold...

The choice of paper for this project is an interesting one! The original choice was to use a synthetic paper as typically, with the British weather, paper maps get wet and the paper falls apart. However, synthetic papers are basically plastic and it does not fit with the vineyard's environmental policy. The solution is a clever one! It is produced on a 100% recycled (post consumer waste) label paper called Trevi manufactured by the Reflex Paper Mill in Germany. So, I hear you ask, why is that so clever? Well, this label paper is manufactured with what is described as 'Wet Strength' (WS) and is manufactured with the addition of chemicals which improve the tensile properties of the paper both in wet and dry state by crosslinking the cellulose fibres with covalent bonds that do not break upon wetting. It basically mens that it doesn't fall apart when it gets wet. These papers are generally used for label papers where the label is required to come off in one piece in the recycling process. It is also the same technique that is used in facial tissues, which stops them falling apart when you blow your nose, unlike toilet paper, which falls apart. This looks and feels like a totally normal sheet of paper but when it gets wet it will hold together, much better than a normal sheet of paper - it's the perfect choice! 

Click on images to enlarge

Above and below images show both sides 

The design incorporates these superb woodcuts, which look perfect on the neutral white shade of the paper.

Click on images to enlarge

The paper is called Trevi Recycled 80gsm which is manufactured by the Reflex paper mill in Germany and we are pleased to be their UK stockist and distributor.

Below image showing front and back covers.

Design is by UTILE. Creative Director on the project is Nicholas Duggins and the designer is Sammy Taylor. Printing is by Identity Printers with Paul Martin handling the project.

...and just in case, I gave the map a total soaking in the sink and it holds together perfectly, just as promised!

https://rathfinnyestate.com/

https://utile.studio/

http://www.identityprint.co.uk/

Sublime Data

For over 20 years, the British artist Dan Holdsworth has been blending art, science and nature to produce works which challenge our perceptions and reinvent the notion of landscape. He studied photography at the London College of Printing (1998), and has exhibited internationally including solo shows at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, and Barbican Art Gallery, London; and group shows at Tate Britain, London, and Centre Pompidou, Paris. 

Published by Alaska Editions, Sublime Data is divided into three sections, each being accompanied with an essay.

The size is 320x230mm, portrait and is saddle stitched. It has a 4pp cover using a 115micron acetate and a 136pp text.

So the amazing thing about this publication is the use of a one sided 90gsm for the text, which is a lightweight 'cast-coated' paper which is high gloss coated on one side and dead flat uncoated on the reverse - our Astralux 90gsm. Above image is a gloss coated spread and below is an uncoated spread... 

Colour reproduction is superb and with the light 90gsm weight, the pages flop and fold beautifully.

You probably won't be able to guess, or even believe, is that it's digitally printed! The job was printed and finished by digital print company Typecast Colour, based in Paddock Wood, Kent. It was printed on their Ricoh C901 digital press and the result is superb. For a limited run (this is a limited edition of 75 copies) printing digitally makes a project such as this viable - and on a a material like this, which many litho printers are worried about!...just look at the print result in the detail image below...

The 136pp, sit nice and flat...

...and barely 'gapes' in the middle.

The saddle stitching with black wire is really neat:

My thanks to Typecast Colour for allowing me to photograph their file copy. Publication is designed by Sébastien Montabonel and this really is a superb example of a limited edition artbook. 

http://holdsworth.works/

http://www.typecast.co.uk/

Today is Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event first held on April 22, 1970. It now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.

What better day to tell you about the recently refreshed Shiro Echo 100% Recycled paper range!

Favini is a paper manufacturer based in Italy with mills in Vicenza near the city of Venice and at Crusinallo. They have taken a lead in the utlisation of non-wood pulps since the early 1990’s and they are the manufacturers of the Shiro Echo range. It was launched over a decade ago being a range of  text & cover papers manufactured using 100% post consumer waste.  

Shiro Echo was originally just two shades; a white shade, which is a natural/off white (and similar to the old shade of Cyclus) and a Bright White. With weights from 80gsm up to 350gsm, it is 100% Recycled and also carries the FSC Recycled classification.

The new additions to the range are three 'RAW' shades which have a slightly rougher/toothier surface and are in earthy tones of Grey, Sand and Black. The new shades are available in 120, 200, 250 and 350gsm. 

To accompany the brand refresh, there is a new printed sample book too...

Artist Lyndon Hayes was commissioned to capture the processes and the sheer scale and the noise of the production at the mill.

Size is 240x154mm, portrait and shows offset litho, silkscreen and hot foil blocking.

Design and art direction is by Silk Pearce. If you would like a copy of the Shiro Echo showbook and swatch, just ask me for one! Email justin@fennerpaper.co.uk

https://www.earthday.org/

https://www.favini.com/gs/en/ 

https://www.silkpearce.com/ 

Posted by Justin Hobson 22.04.2021

The worst day in the paper industry, so far...

I don't wish to be over dramatic, or a gloomy doom monger, but this news today is the worst that I can ever remember in my career...

I'm not sure the Printweek headline conveys the gravity of the situation. StoraEnso are one of the largest pulp and paper producers in the world and they have announced that they are closing two mills (Veitsiluoto and Kvarnsveden) which account for over 1.3 million tonnes of paper - and that's not including the pulp production that is also going. This is truly dreadful news and sadly includes well over 1,000 job losses.

You can read the full article in Printweek HERE.

https://www.printweek.com/news/article/stora-enso-to-cull-more-capacity-with-radical-mill-closure-plan

You can also read about it in the Financial Times here:

https://www.ft.com/content/921982b6-94f3-46df-ae55-e30985239424

These closures are on top of the fact that StoraEnso pulled out of coated paper production last year with a reduction of 1 million tonnes of two sided coated paper.

Last year I wrote an article on this blog about the state of the industry HERE.

We have dealt with StoraEnso for decades and we feel terrible for those people who are set to lose their jobs. These are incredibly difficult times in the paper industry but sadly inevitable as the ongoing contraction of our industry is set to continue for many years to come.

Posted by Justin Hobson 21.04.2021