Creative Book Design- Part Five: Production -Exercise 3: On press
Adrian Pipes’ On Press chapter, from his 2009 Production for Graphic Designers manual, provides a thorough overview of the print process, both historically and practically. Exploring paper, the raw materials that make it, recycled, handmade and manufactured paper, and other stocks; various qualities of inks; various printing processes, including emerging technologies; print finishing and binding; and interviews with a number of book designers.
Chapter Six - On Press (p.165 – 219) in Pipes, A. (2009) Production for Graphic Designers, 5th Edition, London: Laurence King Publishing, is available to you as a resource on the OCA student site.
“There is a long-standing misconception to to learn the craft part of any profession can be a chore. The temptation is to jump right in there and get on with the creative stuff. Print production, in particular, with its many different stages and processes, can seem dull… [however] Graphic designers are both artists and craftspeople… And when you have learnt all about print production, the creativity will be able to come shining through.”
I love the idea behind this quote. It relates to a book that my tutor recommended to me by Eric Gill ‘An Essay on Typography’. Within the book the idea of the craftsman/artist is discussed and how the act of creating (printing for example) is now not considered as impactful or even important as the ‘fine artist’, when in fact the synergy of the 2 I believe can be the most affective in conveying a concept.
Print in general really interests me. I particularly enjoy screen printing and have over time created a home set up to do so, which I will explore further in exercise 4 when experimenting. This process is labour intensive but created some really great results, and often some ‘happy’ accidents. I was initially inspired to screen print from seeing Richard Prince’s white paintings a couple of years ago.
Whilst reading the extract I jotted some key notes and took some screenshots of certain pages for reference including points that interested me and elements that I wanted to look into further. A quote that resonated with me was “Essence of design is to embrace working within set boundaries”- Christine Fent. As I further my design practise I have noticed that setting myself limitations is important, despite enjoying freedom to create it can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when choosing what concept to follow or imagery to use etc.
I also enjoy printing methods such as an acetone transfer (again will explore further in exercise 4) which involves using a xerox toner print, acetone and scratching or pressing the image onto paper. I came across this method (unknowingly) when viewing work by Robert Rauschenberg. His screen printing and paper work really inspired me and it took a long time to finally discover the method that he was using to create the textures that he did.
Malcolm Garrett:
Malcolm Garrett’s multidiscipline/mixed media process really interests me. I did some further research of Garrett’s work inspired by reading the section mentioning him within the extract, beginning with his website. The sites large image reminded me of Bastien Cosson’s site which was just imagery that I came across during the first research task of this section.
When I came across his Instagram I was expecting more design work, but saw how he documents his days with emotive imagery. The images he chooses to upload evoke various feelings and could be interpreted in a multitude of ways. I found this very interesting and it brought forwards ideas/concepts I had been thinking about from the previous task.
Local printer and binding methods:
I began researching printers local to me. The best of the few was ‘Kall Kwick’ based in central Birmingham. They offer printing of all sorts from business cards to wedding stationary, and also website design services. Their binding options are what interested me, perhaps I could try some of these methods myself?
I went onto looking into hard cover binding, a method of binding that I haven’t tried yet. The Youtube tutorial was informative and I went onto giving it a try (inspired by ‘An Essay on Typography by Eric Gill, mentioning the relationship between craftsperson and artist) during Exercise 5.
Hard cover book binding
Book Printer UK:
I came across another printers, based in Peterborough. The ‘Book Printer UK’ specialise in books and binding. I decided to get a quote from them for a small amount of books. Their options were quite in depth, allowing you to choose any size book, many paper options and even a cover sleeve.
