Monday, December 24th 2012
Here’s a reminder about our festive opening times
We’ll be closed on the following dates:
This means that over the holidays the print days are:
After that everything is back to normal – printing on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2pm.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 19th 2012
This is Tom Oldham’s paper, featuring some big names in some very big photographs. Normally when we see this kind of thing coming in to the print queue I get a little panicked, because printing photographs to newsprint can be hard. But when it works, it looks AMAZING!
We asked him how he prepared his photos for printing, so we could pass on some advice to others attempting similar feats. He came back to us with this solid gold list of advice which is so right on I want to print and frame it:
“- Though mentioned on the site, definitely up the contrast of your images and up blacks a little more than screen resolution. Images in print may appear a tad flatter than anticipated, though I was aware of this and consider it in the edit. You can’t really test it so err on the side of caution.
- Don’t rush the edit. Consider it, then leave it and come back to it. It’ll change, evolve, develop.
- Use the space. The subtleties are lost in this format I think, so go big. It’s great to see your shots landing large on a DPS.
- Improved newsprint is REALLY nice.
- The service is great at Newspaper Club so if in doubt, ask. They will always answer and are friendly too.
- Get it right, but don’t worry so much. This is newsprint, it’s not forever so go with your gut and enjoy a format that is very forgiving. People don’t expect perfection in a newspaper – excitement, strength, fun, enthusiasm and dynamism is strongly favoured.”
Thanks Tom!
Friday, December 14th 2012
Phew, it’s been a busy few months in the Engineering Dept., but the last fortnight has been especially full on.
Last week we released the new version of ARTHR to a few customers who had used the old one, to see what they thought of it.
We received lots of very useful feedback and discovered lots of bugs too, both little and large. We’re ploughing through all of that at the moment, releasing tweaks and fixes a few times a day. Thank you everyone who helped out.
The first 90% of the project is always great: you’re breaking new ground, inventing something new, and everything is exciting and good.
The second 90% of the project gets a bit trickier: now you have to make difficult compromises about how to prioritise your time, and the realities of putting your creation into the hands of other people hit home.
We’re well into the third and final 90%. Tracking down frustrating browser bugs, trying to fix the problem with bad connections from corporate networks, wrangling the produced PDFs to be prepress ready.
The good news is that every couple of days I surface from wrestling an especially gnarly PDF problem, or tweaking the server configuration, and I go and have a proper play with it. And I think it’s still good.
For a little flavour here’s a spin through that I just recorded. (Play spot the bug!)
Tuesday, December 11th 2012
View of the exhibition “Parade”, from 11.17.12 to 03.18.13. Curator Claire
Garnier. Graphic design Les Graphiquants © Centre Pompidou-Metz, 2012
Parade is an exhibition about the eponymous ballet, created in 1917 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. It was devised by Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Pablo Picasso and Léonide Massine under the direction of Serge de Diaghilev.
The exhibition’s centrepiece is the ballet’s beautiful stage curtain designed by Picasso, but far more interesting for those of a printy persuasion is the signage and set-up of the exhibition, designed by Les Graphiquants, and printed on digital tabloids by yours truly.
View of the exhibition “Parade”, from 11.17.12 to 03.18.13. Curator Claire
Garnier. Graphic design Les Graphiquants © Centre Pompidou-Metz, 2012
It’s on until 18th March, so if you’re in the area, do go and have a look. All the relevant information can be found here.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012
Tough Crowd brochures (mini newspapers) – photo by Sam Witney
Tough Crowd is a new exhibition of portraits by photographer by Dave Brown. When not taking photos, Dave is known to don a gorilla suit and masquerade as Bollo in The Mighty Boosh. So these aren’t any old portraits but atmospheric, low-key photos of some of comedy’s famous faces. Here are some great photos of the opening by Sam Witney.
Noel Fielding and Dave Brown – photo by Sam Witney
The exhibition is in aid of Afrikids, a UK charity which helps children in Ghana. Dave is an ambassador for the charity and his photos from Africa are also on display. Prints are for sale, as is the exhibition catalogue, a delightful newspaper mini.
Tough Crowd is on at The Strand Gallery, 32 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6BP until 15 December 2012.
Tuesday, December 4th 2012
We had an interesting chat on social media the other day, sparked by the CEO tweeting,
“Son is telling me to knit a CMYK blanket. He’s become obsessed with @newspaperclub”
Deep in the @s Kim Plowright tweeted a link to this brilliant CMYK embroidery by Evelin Kasikov. It’s beautiful work. I’ve included some pics below, but take a look for yourself on her site. There’s loads of good stuff there.
Tuesday, December 4th 2012
Congratulations to City of Wolverhampton College for their award-winning newspaper The Spark.
The Spark, which is the college’s part-time prospectus, picked up Silver for best Magazine Publication at the FE First Awards. The awards, presented by The College Marketing Network, are held to celebrate marketing best practice and the work that is being achieved in further education colleges across the UK. Well done to the Spark’s designer Craig Podd and everyone else on the team.
Redesigning The Spark and switching to a tabloid newspaper format has meant that more people pick up the prospectus, and the college’s costs have been significantly reduced. Good news all round.
There’s a new edition hot off the press this week so why not see for yourself if you’re in the area.