Just in time for the Holidays, we've come across two unique lines of paper ideal for the project your boss hasn't told you about. By that I mean the company Christmas card. The one that needs to be mailed the first week of December. Which is sooner than you think.
CTI Paper USA provides the following prose to describe their ASPIRE Petallics line, and I will quote verbatim being somewhat adjective-challenged on my own:
Capture the essence of life’s finer things with ASPIRE Petallics. A distinctly elegant canvas for your most discerning creative, ASPIRE Petallics sets the standard for sophistication.
The most impressive part of this flowery statement is that it's true. The distributors stocking information for this paper describes it as having a "Mica Finish", and if I had the shorten the description to two words those would do it. This stock comes in a white digital-compatible color which they (inexplicably) call "Beargrass", as well as several others certified for offset printing. Matching envelopes are available in three "A" sizes.
So far we have run business cards and a dinner program on this paper at our shop and the customers loved the results. (I've also seen some Holiday cards run commercially that were also impressive.) Please contact me directly to see some samples.
ReichPaper has similar superlative language to offer regarding their SHINE line of papers, and, again, I'm forced to admit they can be forgiven their enthusiasm:
SHINE brings a subtle shimmer to every design, combining natural minerals with organic pigments, for a rich, luminous effect.
Both of these stocks feature a bright, shimmery finish capable of adding a three dimensional feel to even a very plain vanilla design. Because they behave like a coated stock the printing colors, offset or digital, remain bright. The only drawback is fairly high cost, but these runs tend to be short, and therefore not much paper has to be bought. I think people are getting a lot of visual bang for the buck.
Please let me know if you would like to see samples of these papers...the personality of each finish is just not possible to convey online. We think there's going to be a lot of people wanting to try them out!
I've been looking at printing paper for almost thirty years and have never seen such a scarcity of interesting brands. Consolidation and belt tightening in the paper business are absolutely ruining the selection, and that is a major reason why these two lines are so exciting! This can give you an ace in the hole when the design request shows up at the eleventh hour!
Thanks!
Hugh Butler
Your friend in the printing business
Aspire Petallics and SHINE are registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Here is a Hymn to the 188C and the 4525C
If you're a friend of Florida State University you'll recognize the following verse, and a smile, or even a tear, may appear as you read:
Here is a hymn to the Garnet and Gold, ringing to the sky.
Here is a song for the men and women bold. Sing with heads held high.
Striving ere to seek to know, Fight for victory.
Alma Mater, this our song to you. Echoes, F.S.U.
The University Communications Office cares deeply about Garnet and Gold, particularly after having invested considerable effort in a 2009 update of FSU's visual identity. This update brought a contemporary and consistent look to all visual elements of FSU. The picture below shows about ten years and three iterations of design evolution between the old seal on the left, (ca. 1990), and one of the many new versions available today. See this link for a comprehensive guide to usage and different formats available.
(Click on image to see full size.)
Designers, printers, web developers, and anyone else involved with FSU identity can find all the guidance they need at FSU Voice and Visual Systems. This landing page, and then its link to the main Voice and Visual System Document (upper left corner) contain exhaustive graphics standards for everything from letterhead to vehicles to architecture and signage. Downloadable artwork is also available from the main page for anyone with an FSU Login and Password.
The section within the Voice and Visual System Document I want to highlight is the one devoted to color as many print jobs show up at our shop with incorrect colors specified within the file.
(Click on image to view full size.)
Note in the graphic above that FSU has taken great care to specify spot color Pantone numbers as well as their CMYK, RGB and Hex equivalents. To further refine the standards, distinct Pantone numbers for coated and uncoated paper are provided for the Garnet, and a Pantone Metallic number for the Gold if it will utilize metallic ink. (On succeeding pages of the Color Guide section specifications are provided for building color gradients of each.) All of this represents a tremendous amount of work on the part of FSU, and a unique opportunity to get your project off on the right foot.
If you don't know which color model your actual printing will use, it's important to find out before proceeding to first base with the file.
Beyond the general note that the University Communications Office cares deeply about these standards two things are important to understand; one is that FSU will help in any way they can to make this information accessible and understandable, and the other is that compliance is not optional. Like any major entity, FSU has a huge stake in projecting and protecting a unified brand.
On the latter point, compliance, you must become familiar not only with the guidelines, but also trademark and licensing issues. The last thing you want to happen is have your product look like a mismatch or, even worse, to get in serious trouble by misuse of copyrighted or trademarked material.
To end on a positive note, I've always found Frances Conaway (fconaway@fsu.edu or 644-2913) at University Communications to be an extremely helpful person for information beyond what's on the web page. She is one of many people who care deeply about FSU, and was kind enough to preview and help me with this post.
With best wishes to all friends of the printing business, both on and off campus,
Hugh Butler
Your friend in the printing business
Here is a hymn to the Garnet and Gold, ringing to the sky.
Here is a song for the men and women bold. Sing with heads held high.
Striving ere to seek to know, Fight for victory.
Alma Mater, this our song to you. Echoes, F.S.U.
The University Communications Office cares deeply about Garnet and Gold, particularly after having invested considerable effort in a 2009 update of FSU's visual identity. This update brought a contemporary and consistent look to all visual elements of FSU. The picture below shows about ten years and three iterations of design evolution between the old seal on the left, (ca. 1990), and one of the many new versions available today. See this link for a comprehensive guide to usage and different formats available.
(Click on image to see full size.)
Designers, printers, web developers, and anyone else involved with FSU identity can find all the guidance they need at FSU Voice and Visual Systems. This landing page, and then its link to the main Voice and Visual System Document (upper left corner) contain exhaustive graphics standards for everything from letterhead to vehicles to architecture and signage. Downloadable artwork is also available from the main page for anyone with an FSU Login and Password.
The section within the Voice and Visual System Document I want to highlight is the one devoted to color as many print jobs show up at our shop with incorrect colors specified within the file.
(Click on image to view full size.)
Note in the graphic above that FSU has taken great care to specify spot color Pantone numbers as well as their CMYK, RGB and Hex equivalents. To further refine the standards, distinct Pantone numbers for coated and uncoated paper are provided for the Garnet, and a Pantone Metallic number for the Gold if it will utilize metallic ink. (On succeeding pages of the Color Guide section specifications are provided for building color gradients of each.) All of this represents a tremendous amount of work on the part of FSU, and a unique opportunity to get your project off on the right foot.
If you don't know which color model your actual printing will use, it's important to find out before proceeding to first base with the file.
Beyond the general note that the University Communications Office cares deeply about these standards two things are important to understand; one is that FSU will help in any way they can to make this information accessible and understandable, and the other is that compliance is not optional. Like any major entity, FSU has a huge stake in projecting and protecting a unified brand.
On the latter point, compliance, you must become familiar not only with the guidelines, but also trademark and licensing issues. The last thing you want to happen is have your product look like a mismatch or, even worse, to get in serious trouble by misuse of copyrighted or trademarked material.
To end on a positive note, I've always found Frances Conaway (fconaway@fsu.edu or 644-2913) at University Communications to be an extremely helpful person for information beyond what's on the web page. She is one of many people who care deeply about FSU, and was kind enough to preview and help me with this post.
With best wishes to all friends of the printing business, both on and off campus,
Hugh Butler
Your friend in the printing business
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
