It might seem strange but, as a printer, we often suggest to clients that they print less!
That’s right, print less! Marketing department cupboards are always full of out-of-date brochures and flyers, as more have been ordered than are often needed.
This is the waste that we want to avoid.
Modern digital printing methods mean that we can print smaller print runs to ensure that there is less waste, whilst quick turn arounds ensure stock can be replenished swiftly!
Oh, and there is always a typo to correct somewhere, isn’t there?
So, let’s start just printing what we need!
Read on to find out how you can make more impact, whilst at the same time, making less waste!
Premium papers
One of the main benefits of printed media is the fact that it is physical. In these days of constant emails, social media, streaming and NFTs (yes, those!), having something physical is more powerful than ever as a means of communication in a digitally saturated world.
Many designers are finding even greater impact through the use of premium papers (from manufacturers such as G.F. Smith, Fedrigoni and Munken, to name a few) to ensure that as many senses are being engaged as possible.
Using G.F. Smith and Munken stock on our work with Birmingham Design helped to gain recognition in the 2021 Digital Printer Awards, becoming finalists in the ‘Book’ category’ for the ‘The Creative City’ catalogue. Part of the 2021 Birmingham Design Festival, it was a high-quality keepsake catalogue, showcasing some unique designs from over 100 design professionals from around the region.
This ‘wildly popular’ catalogue is just one example of how you can use premium papers to elevate your print project.
Speciality Inks
Digital printing has come on leaps and bounds over the last decade, with premium short run print jobs simpler to process with modern machinery, such as the Xerox Iridesse digital presses (in 2020, we became the first company in Europe to install two of these!).
The real magic of the six-colour Iridesse presses is the addition of speciality inks, including metallic gold and silver, opaque white and clear inks, enabling endless design possibilities for creative print designs.
The metallic inks can be used on their own (in varying percentages) or used as a base layer under CMYK ink to create vibrant, eye-catching metallic iridescent hues. The pre-defined electronic swatches palette for InDesign (available to download here) makes specifying a metallic colour as easy as specifying a Pantone.
Opaque white ink can also be used on its own or as a base, allowing you to overprint a combination of CMYK and other speciality inks on coloured boards, such as the G.F. Smith Colorplan stock used on the BDF ‘Creative City’ catalogues (more on these, later!).
Finally, the speciality clear ink can be used much in the same way as spot UV, printing as an overlay to enhance certain parts of your design in a subtle yet effective way. The option to print up to seven layers of clear ink also gives you the freedom to add more texture to your print.
Consultation in our innovation room
We know what you are thinking (well, we think we know!). How am I meant to know which paper will perform best? How do I use the speciality inks? How can I decide which is the best way to bind my print? And we are sure you have many more questions, too.
With our collaborative approach, coupled with the new Innovation Room in our central Birmingham head office, it gives you the opportunity to sit down with us for complementary expert print consultation and guidance throughout your decision-making process.
It is your opportunity to get hands on with paper samples from a variety of paper suppliers, as well as gain inspiration from previous projects and experiments.
The BDF ‘Creative City’ catalogues went through this consultation process, from idea development and sampling, through to proof, and finishing to become a finalist in the 2021 Digital Printer Awards.