The Dingbat’s Agenda

  • December20th

    2 Comments

    What to expect… Flood printing, part 1

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Business Papers, letterpress technique, posted by ADRIENNE, What to expect...

    Picking up with the What to expect series today we’ll be discussing large coverage areas and floods.  Below is a business card design by Vanessa of NESS Design. It is a 2/1 letterpress business card printed on 220# paper. Vanessa’s cards got a really great ink coverage because of a few things.

    Her knocked out type was built up with extra stroke wight so that we could flood the press with a LOT of ink and by the time the letters started to fill in they were back to their “normal” weights. Serifed typography is a lot harder to work with and isn’t recommend (especially when small). If you want to knock out of a flood color area (knock-out meaning that the type is white or image area is white with ink surrounding it) then stick to imagery or typography that can be bulked with a stroke or two – that extra padding will make a huge difference in how your print turns out.

    Another advantage to flooding with Vanessa’s cards was the selection of a lighter ink value for her cards. Lighter colors usually flood more evenly. The reason behind this is that all inks are transparent. With transparent inks, large coverage areas, and a textured paper can often have the flecks and texturing show through, lending a “salty” look to the pieces being printed. The darker the ink color, the more evident the salty look. While the press can be run with a double strike (run through the press twice) you can run into registration problems and more waste. You can also set up your press to ink the forme twice before printing, however this can be time consuming and add to your labor costs as well.

    Ultimately if you are considering a flood or large inked up area, know that there will be variables. Letterpress is much different than offset in that way. Stay tuned for the other half of flood printing where we’ll go over paper selection if printing a flood!

    Letterpress printed on 220# lettra paper, 2/1 pantone inks, trimmed to 2×3.5″ – For a set of your own, get an estimate, we’d love to work with you! If you have questions about a file, you can also email it over and we would be happy to advise.

  • November29th

    No Comments

    BLACK FRIDAY, letterpress Tuesday

    Posted in: Business, Business Papers, Calling Cards, Edge Painting

    Never one to follow tradition, I received a lovely email from a colleague yesterday morning wondering if I’d hold my Cyber Monday promotions and instead launch them on Tuesday as part of a Letterpress Tuesday promotion – specifically showcasing letterpress artisans and their holiday goodies on sale. I of course opted out of Cyber Monday and am happy to announce that for the next 24 hours (YES, RIGHT NOW) you can get 25% off ANYTHING in our online shop until midnight tonight (MST).

    These black letterpress calling cards were printed on a black 80# coverstock (I think it was AstroBrights paper). Black can be tricky on press because letterpress inks are very transparent and do not get good opacity when printing on dark papers. We like to recommend a color mix with opaque white to help bulk up the color (PMS Silver 877 works great too if you can afford to have a little tonality with the grey).

    With the left-overs we decided to add a teal edge paint to see how it would take to the black. I feel like I’m having an 80′s flashback!

    Because I just couldn’t get enough, I decided to see what a lavender would look like. If you want to order a set for yourself, you can customize them right here and we’ll make sure they look radical before they ship out to you! If you are unsure about color, stick with lighter hues. They will print and show-up much better than darker colors on the color wheel.

  • November9th

    4 Comments

    Making pigs fly since 1984

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Business Papers, Calling Cards, letterpress technique, NSS, posted by ADRIENNE, posted by MATT

    I have to say, I have some awesome brothers. Both of which I love dearly! Matt, the little brother, worked for Dingbat last year before he started grad school and if you remember he did a few great posts on business Friday. As a thank you, these were supposed to be at NSS last year for him to hand out but they got lost in a shipping snafu and then buried for a few months back at the studio. I finally was able to find them and dig them out as well as photograph them and get them sent off to their rightful owner.

    A few things about Matt, he really liked this flying pig that was rejected by another client. He claimed it as his own. Matt’s personality is all about having fun, enjoying life and having a positive attitude. He also snorts when he laughs (just kidding Matt, you only did that when you were a baby or when I was trying to choke you).

    These cards were a custom duplex with Lettra 110# white and Revere 110# black. Duplexed cards can be tricky on press because of the extra glue between the sheets. That glue can make for a harder and less flexible paper resulting in a not-so-deep impression on the back side.

    I still love how those skinny chevrons turned out though, BEAUTIFUL!

    Thanks Matt for putting up with your crazy sister for a year and for being the best small business consultant EVER (next to dad who gives great legal advice)!

  • May2nd

    3 Comments

    Brittany Gerth Photography, Branding collateral

    Posted in: blog branding, branding, Business, business cards, Business Papers, posted by ADRIENNE

    Thank you everyone for putting up with no blog posts for the last week. There will be GOOD stuff this week to make up for it! David is recovering. Its looking like a couple months before he makes a full recovery but we are so thankful it wasn’t larger than a burn area of 1-2% on his body. I really appreciate everyone’s support!

    We worked on Brittany’s branding awhile ago and she recently came back for more printed material. Above were her banner/avatar options, as well as final style guide.

    Her business collateral now consists of letterpress business cards, with matching letterpress 4Bar flat notes and folded notes.

    I love seeing how a brand develops and the styling really takes its own personality when applied to other pieces.

  • April14th

    7 Comments

    Art Deco Architect branding system

    Posted in: branding, business cards, business friday, Business Papers, posted by ADRIENNE, web design

    This was a branding package done for Gayle of Pickering Design. We explored many many options with Gayle in her branding and it all came down to art deco styling.

    This project was a collaborative effort between myself and one of my good friends and freelancer Linsey Bair.
    Linsey presented the base design that turned into the final branding work for Gayle and then we refined it and adjusted from there.

    One thing that really stuck with me on this project was the color choices that Gayle made. I have a REALLY hard time mixing warm and cool colors, especially when they are in the same family. Gayle knew what she was doing and insisted on the blue, lavender with coral combination and I was utterly amazed when they finally came off press.

    In addition to Gayle’s branding, we developed design out into her business papers, including business cards and letterhead.

    Letterpress letterhead is something that I need to do for myself, especially after seeing these beauties in their finished state. The letterhead was printed on 120GSM Lettra soft white letterhead sheets, 2 inks and paired with matching letterpress printed no. 10 envelopes also printed with 2 ink colors.

    Business cards were letterpress printed 3/0 on 110# paper with pantone matches for each color.

    The envelopes were a little weightier stock and came from Wast Not Paper (Paper-source.com’s wholesale company). We matched WNP’s soft white No. 10 envelopes with the letterhead and they added a little thickness just exactly where it was needed regarding the take of impression and contrast of ink.

    Thanks Gayle for being SO fun to work with, we are really happy with how these turned out and are honored to have had the opportunity to worked with you.

  • April8th

    3 Comments

    IT letterpress business cards

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Business Papers, Calling Cards, posted by ADRIENNE

    These cards were printed last summer for Hope for usage with networking, promoting her I.T. services, and to serve as a killer leave-behind with head-hunters and potential clients.

    We designed layout of Hope’s cards in conjunction with Sarah Ewell, one of our freelance designers. Upon approval of the design, these were letterpress printed on 110# Crane’s Lettra paper. Two inks, pantone match, and dressed to impress. I just love the QR code on there paired with the circuit board. Sized at 2.5×2.5″, if you are looking for branding help or have your own design files ready and just need printing, please contact us for a request for a letterpress or design estimate. We’d LOVE to work on your next project!

  • April7th

    1 Comment

    Final logo style guide

    Posted in: branding, Business Papers, posted by ADRIENNE

    You may remember a few days back the logo variations we explored for Josh. Below is the finalized style guide for the branding we did for him. Upon completion of our branding package, we like to put together a style guide indicating pantone suggestions, RGB Hex #s for web matching, typographic notations for continued use on alternate business collateral and some pattern samples on extending the brand.

    In addition to the style guide, upon establishing the brand look, we can also apply the brand elements across to other pieces such as business cards, letterhead, notes, product tags and labels, and more.

    Part of establishing a style guide is to help grow the brand equity, especially when its a new brand. By establishing color harmony and typographic suggestions, we help that brand (and the people doing the every day stuff behind it) to establish a relationship with it style. If there is a flyer or ad that needs to be placed, they can pull the typography suggestions and color suggestions to keep things in relation to where they want their brand to go. It helps create awareness and recognition across the board.

    Whether you have your own logo but need styling help, layout, or want to start fresh with something completely new you can check out our branding section in the shop or request an estimate for a more customized package.

  • March2nd

    No Comments

    Almond Tree Bakery

    Posted in: branding, Business Papers

    These letterpress lovelies were part of a branding package for Hannah of Almond Tree Bakery. We worked on her brand, typography styling, business cards, tags, website banner, blog banner and have already re-printed for her!

    Hannah had a really good idea about what she was looking for. So when she saw the design from her initial proofs it wasn’t too hard to nail down the rest of the design elements and pieces from there.

    Letterpress printed business cards and product tags, 1/4″ rounded corners, 3/16″ hole punch in the tags and paired with 1/8″ red ribbon. If you are interested in branding services or just need an update with your letterpress goods, be sure to fill out our Get an Estimate form for letterpress printing and design services.

  • January18th

    4 Comments

    Anna & Jason ROCK!

    Posted in: branding, business cards, Business Papers, Edge Painting, Packaging, web design

    I have to say, I LOVE my clients. Anna & Jason were no exception. I’ve been working on their branding, blog design and business cards during the 3rd quarter of 2010 and am finally getting around to blogging about the finished letterpress printed piece. Below are some of the explorations from their branding package regarding logo alternates, business card layouts and condensed exploration of their initials.

    Anna & Jason were looking for refined, minimalist and something with a pop of color. Their style was amazing, and designing for them was challenging and rewarding. Every time I felt stumped, we’d have a phone call and get down to business regarding where design was going and what tweaks needed to be made. In the end I’m really proud to say that this is another of my favorites.

    Letterpress printed business cards – 2/2. I love how these act as individual cards for both anna & jason – what a great way to individualize on one print run.

    Edge painted with matching pantone ink – mixing this color was tricky because the pigment dried darker. I kept having to add white, then water, then white until we got the perfect shade. Can I say I’m totally digging the light orange/peachy color with the grey?It’s a fabulous departure from the yellow/grey trend.

    If you have gotten this far and are paying attention!!!! Those above are custom die-cut business card sleeves. We’ll be offering them exclusively as Promo Pouches because they are just wide enough to fit in a business card or two, as well as a little something else like a compliment card, thank you surprise or a couple of offset mini Moo’s showcasing your work in addition to your contact info.

    All designs ©2011 Dingbat Press – Promo Pouches, and our edge painting technique are special to us too!

  • January4th

    6 Comments

    Letterpress Paper explorations

    Posted in: Business, Business Papers, letterpress technique, NSS, posted by ADRIENNE

    Here were some letterpress calling cards we did for Michelle where we tried a new paper (Legion Bamboo) and it turned out quite lovely – I’m impressed! We are always exploring paper options for quality, impression, and fiber content, as well as keeping in mind price, and availability. As we continue to grow, we want to make sure we have looked at our options regarding paper and have a good selection for our clients in regular stock. What do you think? It took the impression different on press (the paper was a little harder than the Lettra which is our standard house paper) but I think they look just as lovely. The texture is different too…

    Some of my favorite papers are printmaking papers – Rives BFK – Johannot – Arturo – each have their own attributes that are unique. If you are a printer, printmaker or artist, what is your favorite paper to work on, I’d love to hear!

  • December20th

    1 Comment

    Chunky Pineapple Branding – start to finish

    Posted in: branding, Business, business cards, Business Papers, Custom, posted by ADRIENNE

    This was a small branding package that we worked with Michelle on for her stationery venture, Chunky Pineapple. She creates awesome gocco cards and needed some outside help with her identity. Sometimes we all get too close to the project, right? That’s where we came in. With her ideas about the brand we came up with some concepts that were in line with the look and feel she was going for. Below are Round I & II proofs as well as the final printed pieces. Enjoy!

    …………………………………………………………

    …………………………………………………………

    Letterpress printed business cards and product tags. Printed on 110# lettra paper with 1/4″ rounded corner radius. Tags were hole punched with a 3/16″ hole, and ink was a pantone match. Business cards sized at 2×3.5″ and tags sized at 1.5×3.5″.

    All designs and proofs ©2010 Dingbat Press.

  • December16th

    1 Comment

    Jones & Vandermeer RII & III

    Posted in: branding, Business, Business Papers, posted by ADRIENNE

    We debuted Jones & Vandermeer’s RI last week and after feedback from the client here is RII and RIII. Jones & Vandermeer is a boutique luxury fiber company producing specialty mink yarn and other exotic goods gathered from around the world. As the brand developed we wanted to incorporate some imagery that reflected target market, as well as material without having to be too specific so the company could continue to grow with extended offerings. click on the images to see them larger in scale. I’m SO excited with how these are turning out – what do you think?

    ………………………………….………………………………….

    Related Posts with Thumbnails
« Previous Entries
Return to the Homepage