OUGD505 - Studio Brief 2 - City Patch Project - Production of Designs and Material Considerations

Production of Designs and Material considerations 

Printing the Newsletter, Certificate, Map and Seed Packet 

Originally the designs were going to be printed on recycled stock however it was said by the technician that it is difficult to get hold of this kind of stock that is also suitable for printing images on as well. Instead for all of the designs an off white stock was used to create a more organic appearance rather than a clinical bright white. The use of this stock still allowed the imagery and colours to contrast against the background which was particularly needed in the newsletter which was content and image heavy. 

The newsletter was printed on thin stock to create a booklet aesthetic. The design was then bound using staples to create a cost effective and simple binding technique appropriate for a small booklet / zine publication. It was considered that different areas would have different content in their newsletter so would be produced locally by patch volunteers. The designs for the zine / booklet for patches across the country would be the same however changes would be made to the content that goes into the design. Due to the zine / booklet being produced specifically for an area this means there would be a lower print run making digital print more cost effective.


The map and seed packet was printed on the same stock as this allowed the designs to be easily folded down. There was some cracking on the seed packet imagery however this was not overly obvious. The certificate was printed on a heavier stock to make the design feel more substantial and official.

Printing and Producing the Folder

The size of the net meant that the design had to be printed on a different printer to the other designs which used different paper. The folder need to be printed on a thick stock as this would need to be strong enough to support the contents of the pack. However, it was found that after a certain weight the papers available start to crack when folded. To minimise the risk of this the folder was laminated on the front which allowed the paper to be better supported when folded. This also created a protective surface for the folder cover making it more durable. 

When all of the designs were printed however it was found that the grey which had printed accurately elsewhere was heavily saturated by the printer in digital print. This meant that what was previously grey looked black which was not ideal. 

Printing the stickers

 

To create the car sticker and other stickers the designs were printed onto white vinyl. Using white vinyl would allow all the colours within the design to stand out and the quality of the print would be the same as if printed on any other paper surface. Adding a black outline around the stickers on a separate layer within the digital file allowed the printed designs to then be put through the vinyl cutter which cut the stickers out. The car stickers printed on the clear vinyl came out more vibrantly than expected however the green was a different colour to the original which is seen within all the other printed material.