Consumables-Paper - Digital

A young designer I spoke to the other day was very frank about the fact that she did not like digital printing because you could only print on white paper. Granted there are some print providers that prefer to print on white coated stock all day long (digital or offset, it does not matter to them). And these few give our whole industry a bad reputation.

Designers trying to communicate with printers are like cats trying to talk to dogs. They both communicate in different languages and with different perspectives. Talk to us creative folks in our own language. Learn how to speak “design” and, in turn, we will be happy to learn a few terms of print, and put our creative trust into your capable hands.

Mohawk has introduced a new campaign designed to support an emerging maker culture and three new supporting publications enhanced with additional content made possible through Mohawk Live, Mohawk’s new augmented reality mobile app.

It was around Valentine’s Day when a red-striped promotional piece captured my paper lover’s attention within a millisecond. GLS, a single-source marketing services provider based in Minnesota, used CMYK and a triple hit of white to produce a beautiful striped pattern and ribbon effect. But it was the striking look and velvety feel of some of the hearts and stripes in the design that left me weak in the knees.

This invitation grabbed our attention here at PaperSpecs. Red wines are the theme of the evening, and the letters R-E-D figure as the prominent design element in a clever marriage of the word and the color.

Call me lazy, but I’ve never felt the urge to buy my own paper for print jobs. As tempting as it sounds to order my own paper, there are too many potentially ugly consequences for me as a client.

It didn’t seem like such an unusual request when a printer friend of mine asked, “Can you help me find a matching color? I checked with my paper merchants, but they couldn’t help.” This was a big client with a huge order, and I didn’t want to let my friend down. It was a make-or-break situation.

When you shine a light on a photo from different angles, nothing happens to the image. But what if the shadows on it could change as if it were a real, three-dimensional object? That day is closer than you think.

The winning entries to Appleton Coated’s U360 Competition for 2012 have been announced. “U360 celebrates design, content and printing excellence, and all that paper makes possible. The winning selections recognize the all-around, effective, creative role that print communication plays in the marketing mix,” says Ferkó X. Goldinger, advertising and promotion manager.

FiberMark CEO Anthony P.D. MacLaurin can strip down his company’s corporate strategy to one simple statement.  “Replace plastic,” he says. That means getting manufacturers that use plastic in book covers, file folders, packaging for consumer goods from cognac and Godiva chocolates to board games to use materials made with cellulose.

FiberCard replaces the plastic used in gift cards and hotel-room key cards with a dense, glossy paper that not only accepts the printing of graphics and photos, but takes the magnetic strip and scratch-off space where the PIN number is hidden.

FiberTag, is designed to replace those plastic tags