On the straight and narrow

Last weekend I made my way with Melissa across the state to Letterpress Things in Chicopee. She recently got her hands on a 5x8 Kelsey and was eager to pick up the rest of the essentials she'd need for printing. I was in desperate straits for some cutting rule as I had a job with 1500 slits to cut, and was not looking forward to doing it by hand. Not when I have a perfectly good press to use...



The day was a total success. Not only did we find everything we were looking for (including a cabinet for her press to go on) but I scored some super fonts as well - including this nearly complete 72 pt Helvetica! (it's only missing the capital N and the number 2, but has a complete lowercase contingent).

Eager to put it into use, I had just the project up my sleeve - a new commission for a poster for the Dudley Chorus spring performance. As I have complete creative freedom with this job, in the past (and past) I'd used it as an opportunity to play with wood type (makes sense, big letters for a poster). Well, what better use for 72 pt Helvetica instead ?!



That decision combined with the inspiration to use the paper strip off-cuts from an invitation job resulted in this elegant yet totally modern long and narrow poster - just like the font!



So delicious.



And I'm embarrassed to admit that even though I own the movie Helvetica, I have yet to watch it. No excuse now.

Lost in translation

I am nearing the end of two of the most overwhelmingly difficult weeks I can remember and so I wanted to take a moment and focus on something truly and exceptionally happy: the upcoming wedding of my dear friend and collaborator Marisa.



We recently finished up her invitation design and printing so she could whisk them back to Italy with her earlier this week. The light, whimsical wildflowers so lovely counter the understated colors (just a hint of lavender on a warm gray card with charcoal gray print).



It was an intriguing project to work on since we were merging both the Italian and American traditions into a design that would be understood by people from both cultures. Italian invitations are generally very sparse both in wording and design, and it was refreshing not to have so much text to worry about. But both Marisa and I were happy to shake things up with the colors and design. I can't wait to hear what the Italian response will be!

[Seriously, Italian invitations are a single card folded in half horizontally, which, when you open, has simply the names of the couple, the place and time of the wedding and the reply to address all centered in black type on a white card. If it's really adventurous, the text will be brown.]



We will, of course, be heading to Italy for this first of two celebrations (the latter to take place back in the States in the fall). Thinking of this return trip and the joy and celebration that will follow lightens my heart.

I'll take "A Mulligan" for $800, Alex

We were approached by graphic designer Lorelei Grazier to print some business cards for an independent film producer.



It was an ambitious, hot little project to be printed in silver and black with a full silver bleed on the back. Having tested our silver ink on a swatch of Plike paper by Gruppo Cordenons, we knew it would be far more vibrant than our cotton stocks. And with the "is-it-plastic-is-it-suede?" texture, I'd been dying to use the paper for ages.



The silver was punchy, the black incredibly sharp and crisp, and we ended up printing a debossed crow on the front to help punch him out on the back (and man, it looked pretty cool even on the front).

We thought we had the perfect project.



That is, until this week when we discovered that the paper is uber sensitive to, well, everything. Other colored papers which are normally well-behaved left stains on the perfect bright white fronts. So did the silver ink, so no stacking these cards. And it's prone to finger-printing which dulls the silver.

Sigh. We thought we had the perfect project.

While I expect to encounter serious problems from time to time, it's so utterly disheartening when a job that you think went perfectly just disintegrates before your eyes. And sadly, upset client interactions stick with you much longer and more vividly than the happy ones.

Hopefully that only serves to make us better printers.

Down to earth

About a week ago Boston launched a new green trade show D2E - Down to Earth. I'd passed on an invitation to be a vendor, however, good friends of ours, Tim & Alex found it to be a great venue for promoting their new company, CO2 Stats.



The show was great with a wide range of exhibitors ranging from green builders to Zipcar, with oodles of eco-friendly mom-and-pop shops making food products, clothing, and cleaners. And of course free ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's booth. I realized how small a community Boston is when I knew someone at every third booth we visited.



In exchange for some last minute setup help, they were kind enough to offer me a little table to exhibit some of our printed goods. In a matter of an hour, Melissa and I scrambled to complete a small display book in a modified accordion style. We skipped the glue and instead used my new favorite toy - the acid-free, permanent, double-sided adhesive tape gun. It looked pretty super in the end.





Far less bulky than our traditional custom book, it nevertheless allowed us to showcase some of our favorite projects. Who knows if anything will come of it, but now we have a snazzy little book to carry around to fairs.

Tie one on

Our favorite plate makers extraordinaire, Boxcar Press, recently launched their new website. As one of the first fifty online plate orders, they sent me a brand-spanking new, super-awesome printing apron.



I love the fit; I love the adjustable neck strap (eliminating needs for knots); I love all the pockets; and I love the silkscreen design with the tiny little boxcar in the center.

Thanks, guys!