There was a time, not so long ago, that every piece of print that crossed the threshold of a printer’s premises was examined with ultra keen interest. How had it been printed, how many colours had been used, was the cover laminated or varnished, how had that fold been achieved, would the spin crack when folded and was the glue on the spine too thin or thick? In part this was because there was an eye to perhaps winning this customer in future, but in the main because printers were curious. They wanted to understand how things were produced in order to replicate this or to improve their own processes. At time this obsession of finding out who had printed something and how could become embarrassing in a supermarket aisle or in a bookshop. Automation and market maturity as well as the retirement of a cohort of printers has largely put an end to this habit. But it should not have. Apart from the satisfaction of working out how the folds, creases and glues have been used to create a mailer, credit card carrier, promotional piece or stylish carton, this understanding is needed in order to be able to innovate, to create the next generation of printed products. And it extends beyond the physical product. There is much to be learned from looking at the websites other printers, and other non print businesses, have built. Do they work, what draws the eye, what products are highlighted, is there some overarching personality or flavour? Or is this a bland website created by a website designer who is using the same theme as they used for the local butcher, baker or candlestick maker, with the same quirky graphics and the same non existent chance of success. To paraphrase Steve Jobs, ‘good printers copy, great printers steal’. And then adapt and go further. This is the essence of evolution. So when a clever printed product lands on your desk, take it apart, emulate it, add something that few other printers can do, and this extended version is on its way to becoming a product you can be proud of. Because nothing inspires quite like print.
When print could be tested to distraction
There was a time, not so long ago, that every piece of print that crossed the threshold of a printer’s premises was examined with ultra keen interest. How had it been printed, how many colours had been used, was the cover laminated or varnished, how had that fold been achieved, would the spin crack when folded and was the glue on the spine too thin or thick? In part this was because there was an eye to perhaps winning this customer in future, but in the main because printers were curious. They wanted to understand how things were produced in order to replicate this or to improve their own processes. At time this obsession of finding out who had printed something and how could become embarrassing in a supermarket aisle or in a bookshop.
Automation and market maturity as well as the retirement of a cohort of printers has largely put an end to this habit. But it should not have. Apart from the satisfaction of working out how the folds, creases and glues have been used to create a mailer, credit card carrier, promotional piece or stylish carton, this understanding is needed in order to be able to innovate, to create the next generation of printed products.
And it extends beyond the physical product. There is much to be learned from looking at the websites other printers, and other non print businesses, have built. Do they work, what draws the eye, what products are highlighted, is there some overarching personality or flavour? Or is this a bland website created by a website designer who is using the same theme as they used for the local butcher, baker or candlestick maker, with the same quirky graphics and the same non existent chance of success.
To paraphrase Steve Jobs, ‘good printers copy, great printers steal’. And then adapt and go further. This is the essence of evolution. So when a clever printed product lands on your desk, take it apart, emulate it, add something that few other printers can do, and this extended version is on its way to becoming a product you can be proud of. Because nothing inspires quite like print.
Gareth Ward
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