It took how long to print?

I recently read a book titled The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime by Miles Harvey. Maps were actually ripped from library books for a profit. Working in the print world, the one part that really stuck in my mind was how long it actually took to print an atlas in 1663, at a qty. of 300.

Lets see… 1,000 working days for typesetting, 330 working days for letterpress printing, 900 working days for the copperplate printing and 300 working days for binding. Can you believe it?

I wonder how long it would take us today.

Tags: atlas, binding, copperplate, letterpress, map, Print, printing, typesetting

What?… an app for the paper industry

Neenah Paper has come up with an app for your iPhone, called Think Ink: Color Unleashed. For all you designers on the go, this app can create color palettes based on four photo options right from your phone. Then when you are all done, you can later create coordinating print options to really make your options bloom. Check it out here.

Tags: app, color, color palettes, designers, iPhone, neenah, paper, phone, Print

Priceless Impression

I recently received a promotional piece for photographer Jim Gallop from artist agent Jim Hanson. He handed me a plain brown outer box approximately 14×7. I opened it to find another box. This one was not so plain. This one was gorgeous. As I slipped off the full-bleed printed velum sleeve, my creative brain was just starting its journey. There were embossed headlines, gold foil type, great crossovers, beautifully shot photographs and a design to make the best among us envious.

Now for the interactive part.

Sliding the ends of the box opened a two-piece outer shell and reveals the contents within. Stunning photography of the old west, seen with a modern lens. There, nestled in two gold-rimmed recesses, were two decks of playing cards. Each thoughtfully crafted, and featuring great quotes. The playing cards themselves had the feeling of being right off the table of a poker game in the 1800′s. Printed on each of the aces were understated promotions for the photographer, the agent, the designers, Maverick Design and the printer, Carlson Print Group.

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Tags: creative insights, graphic design, Print

Print? Dead? LOL

Touch and feel. These tangibles are things you simply can’t recreate in non-print media—and I argue that they are things John Q. Public is NOT willing to give up. At least, not yet.

Sure, there are myriad ways in which digital channels can get “personal.” But let’s face it: who isn’t savvy enough to understand how cheap and AUTOMATED that process is at this point. I mean, really.

Who among us is immune to seeing our own name in print?  With the latest printing technology, you can send your customer a piece of mail that not only has their name within the body copy, or lists their favorite hobbies, but also provides them with their own personal URL. And by virtue of the non-digital medium itself, you’re catching that customer when you can be sure you’ve got his attention. Beautiful, customized, tactile media (ideally, that looks a little expensive) that maximizes all the best benefits of online technology. How cool is that?

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Tags: creative insights, Direct Mail, email, Print, snail mail