Today, we were lucky enough to have a studio visit and talk from the reknowned Brighton-based print company 'Generation Press'- with strong links to the college not only for printing business, but also due to graduate Anand Patel, who was invited to work at the company after University, and who has now become an integral part of the design team.
Aspiring to work in, and specialise in print, I knew that this talk was an essential, and I'm so pleased I went- the company looks wonderful, and their portfolio of print work is truly sensational. Plus, their eco policies have really clicked with me- aspiring to work ethically and environmentally in my design, I feel I could really have trust in their company. Written below are a few notes I took during the session (please excuse the rambling/nonsensical structure...)
- Paul "Scrub" Hewitt and An&.
- An& joined the Generation Press team a year and a half ago after calling in his third year for business cards and developing a strong and enthusiastic relationship with the company- inspired the "Adopt a Northerner" brand.
- Paul is the 4th generation printer in the company (printers run in the family in one sense or another- Dad was the essential start of the print business- printed in their garage! However, Grandfather also worked in the newspaper print business).
- Eco policies of Generation Press include: Vegetable base inks, 100% recycled stock, FSC paper, carbon neutral, renewable energy source, recyclable.
- Pigment in the ink is the most expensive element- more pigment in ink (carried by natural oils) means less ink is needed with much crisper, fresher colour.
- Located in Poyrings development (Brighton)- barn conversion- [looks gorgeous and natural].
- Employee and staff member Zoe is the "eco warrior" team member- once worked for The Body Shop, helps to maintain sustainability, now 83% of products are recylced.
- Originally looked into utilising the sheep's wool (sheep farm next door) to insulate their building but decided against it- didn't want to absorb any moisture out of the paper- atmospheric pressure and moisture plays a big part in the conditions of both paper and inks.
- Print (finishes) include: foil blocking, letterpress, die cutting, colour edging, duplexing.
- Manufacturing and design are a match made in HEAVEN.
- Clients include: D&AD/Conran & Partners/Paul Smith/YCN/Pentagram/Ministry of Sound/NB Studio/Aboud Sodano/A+B Studio/Yacht Associates, etc.
- Worked with Yacht Associates to make 'Generation Yacht' publishing company (Yacht designed Blur 'Parklife' album cover).
- Now working with V&A annual review- very proud! Collaborations are what inspire them to carry on working and printing- not all about commercialism and sales.
- Michael Place and GP posters got pasted around London and NYC- pasted in ad agencies, etc- got into magazines, etc. Felt "good" and "right"- yet kept anonymous until Creative Review found out the source of the images. Rick Guest (Photographer) and a director made film and photographs (for free) to document this process. Their aim was to spread the word that design is for EVERYONE.
- Use GF Smith papers.
- Rebrand (with great logo/colour palette) created by regular collaborative designer, Michael Place.
THINGS TO REMEMBER
- "The most considered business cards will be the most beautiful. Simple, and brilliantly delivered."
- When printing photographs for publications,shoot in RAW (Adobe sRGB setting to keep the gamut consistent from all camera models)- use curves to adjust shadows and light.
- Remember that 50% opacity is VERY hard to print- go for 45% or 55% if you can.
- If you use a tint in type you get a "jagged" dot line.
- Silver looks far more impressive when printing (litho) on black as opposed to white... "more punchy".
- CHECK YOUR PANTONE AND STOCKS! A fundamental issue (gave an example where D&AD colour scheme on coated is 116C- BRIGHT yellow- but it's 116U alternative is an almost dark orange colour- therefore, they proposed 109C and 116U- it's always worth a check as opposed to an assumption).
- It doesn't matter how good you are by comparison, just ensure that you...
"TRY TO BE BETTER & WORK HARD EVERY DAY"
And perhaps the highlight of the whole day- in memory of 11th November, and the 11 tips of design and print that were expressed throughout their presentation, we were each given a gorgeously printed certificate of our attendance to the talk- complete with a foil-blocked poppy design, which utilises the shapes and angles from their brand logo. Simple, sophisticated and a great inspiration for my own design work- the matt foil blocking creates a wonderful Spot UV-like effect... I need to try this out in my own designs!
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