HP teams with brand experts for print inspiration

HP aims to inspire brand owners about the possibilities of digital printing with a new large-format book, printed by FE Burman.

The A3 portrait book, Digital Print. A Bigger Spectrum, was written by FMCG design expert Silas Amos and includes contributions from Jeremy Lindley, global design director at Diageo, and former D&AD president Mark Bonner.

It was produced in association with HP, and contains a variety of different case studies showing different ways that brands around the world have found clever and innovative ways to use digital printing techniques.

Design and art direction was by James Lunn.

Amos described it as a “genuine team effort” and praised the contributions of all involved. He said that HP’s Nancy Janes and Paul Randall had been “brilliant collaborators, creatively engaged and hugely supportive”.

The customer examples featured include Irn Bru, model agency Storm, Japanese newspaper Mainichi, Bud Light, and the band Hot Chip.

It follows on from the Adventures in Print publication of 2014.

HP Worldwide brands business development manager Paul Randall said the book had a real visual “wow” factor of its own.

“This is about direct outreach to brand owners and agencies to drive awareness, and ultimately to drive them to use digital print more,” he explained.

“Previously we had a lot of focus on packaging and corrugated, but this covers direct mail, signage, point-of-sale and general print as well.”

The book is printed on a variety of Colorplan papers from GF Smith, and has sections within sections, such as white pages within a 4pp section on magenta paper, for added impact. Some of the pages involved more than 10 colours.

It was printed on London-based FE Burman’s HP Indigo 10000 using a variety of techniques, including metallics and multi-hit white for a screenprint-like effect.

“It was the most complicated job we’ve produced yet on our 10000, in terms of the number of different substrates and different colours, and making the pre-press files work,” said FE Burman managing director Michael Burman.

“Naked” binding for a layflat result was carried out by Diamond Print Services in Enfield.

Produced in a limited edition of 600, each copy also includes a unique artwork page created using HP Mosaic software, from an artwork created by artist Rob Lowe, who is known as Supermundane.