Killer app: Put fluorescents on the map

What was the project?

Eye wanted to produce a special seven-colour cover to coincide with an editorial feature on Joost Grootens’ maps. The cover is a detail from one of the maps in Grootens’ Atlas Of The New Dutch Water Defence Line, which art director Simon Esterson took from the original Illustrator file used by Dutch printer Lecturis. The type was removed and the same fluorescent colours were specified. Eye editor John Walters said it was logical and necessary to show the work as close to the original intention as possible.

How was the job produced?
The covers, which featured a standard four-colour back page, with black plus the three spot colours on the front, were printed in a single pass on one of Pureprint’s Speedmasters. The text sections were printed on a range of stocks, including Regency Satin, Arctic Volume, Munken Print Extra Volume 15 and a yellow Solar paper.

What challenges were overcome?
The cover was difficult to proof as Eye’s digital proofs cannot replicate fluorescent colours. Esterson passed the sheets on press, comparing them with the original book to make sure the colours were correct. Initially the colours were correct, but the density of the halftone screens was not due to a problem interpreting the Illustrator file. Pureprint’s repro team manually adjusted the file and remade the fluorescent plates in order to match the original book.

What was the feedback?
According to Walters: unprecedented. "We have never had such feedback before," he said. "This was partly down to the print and partly down to the content. There is currently real interest in information design and our feature seems to have struck a chord."