In this exercise you can use any images created elsewhere in the course, to print onto the paper samples you collected earlier.
You are encouraged to be experimental in these exercises; it doesn’t matter if you make a mess or get things wrong in the images you make. It is important to reinforce this message at this point in the creative process, as often people tighten up when they think they are embarking on the final piece, and lose some of the fluidity and spontaneity of their original ideas. We want to keep the visual outcome of this exercise fresh and not stultified by perceived conventions of what is ‘right’.
When you’re exploring visual ideas and processes, the outcomes may not always be what you thought they would be at the outset. You won’t always get it right the first time, and this is how it should be. By repeatedly trying out and experimenting with the materials and ideas at hand, you’ll discover new ways of working. Occasionally ‘mistakes’ turn into happy accidents and prompt a way of working, or technique, that you might choose to deliberately recreate and integrate into your next project. For example, one colour may bleed into another, or your coffee cup might leave a stain on your working paper. Instead of throwing these elements away, you could integrate them into your design process.
When you’ve created a set of images, scan or photograph these to create digital files – JPEGS or TIFFs on your computer. Make sure the resolution is set at 300dpi. Having gathered all the images together in one folder, consider how you’re going to print them. What order will the images appear in? At what size? How will the image appear on the page? Which paper will you use for which image? Do you have a particular image in mind for a particular piece of paper? Will you try printing the same image on different sheets of paper?
Draw a simple flatplan as a guide to working out how and where the image will be placed on the page, whether you will include any text, and to explore how the idea of ‘narrative’ might work. You might set up your page layout in DTP software, and work with your images digitally in this way, or you may simply print direct from your photo editing software onto the paper samples.
You may choose to use a desktop printer to output your images, or you may research other print methods such as screen-printing or etching. Print at least 16 pages using the images you’ve created on the paper samples you have collected.
Ideas
For this exercise I thought that the best images to use would be the ones from the ‘Tango with Cows’ exercise as this had produced some really nice imagery. But which ones to use? The only one that was immediately ruled out was the one with type already on it and was already made up of several layers of imagery.
As the exercise calls for 16 pages I thought that this could be divisible by the 4 ‘cow’ pictures from the exercise. I already had these saved on my computer as high resolution jpegs but I felt that this exercise would suit better if they were monochrome, so I desaturated them in Photoshop and upped the contrast.
These could now be printed onto any type of paper and have type or colour overlays as long as my inkjet printer could handle it!
I set my document in Illustrator with 16 art-boards of 1080px square. I then had a play around with my images and lated them over the flatplan to spread the image over all 16 art-boards, similar to an Instagram carousel.
Then, referring back to the exercise, I laid out the images over the flatplan at different scales and formed one large image that spilled over all the pages. I then, in keeping with the original poem, overlaid this with Soviet symbols and also some pages of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx.
I then tried printing some of the ‘pages’ on different types of papers that I had lying around. I had a couple of suitably sized pieces left from my G.F. Smith samples that would run through my printer and I had a role of brown paper for Christmas wrapping.
Reflection on the papers
G.F. Smith Colorplan Vermillion Colonade
This paper went through the printer easily and absorbed the ink really well. It didn’t smudge when it came out of the printer and had a matt finish. Whether it was because of the absorbency of the paper, but image seems to be a little mottled and some of the paper showed through. Also, the paper being red, it didn’t show much in the way of the red areas of the image.
Brown Kraft Paper
I was worried about running the kraft paper through the printer as it had come from a roll and was holding its rolled-shape pretty well. However, it went though without a hitch. The paper absorbed the ink well with no smudging. I liked the effect it gave to the image, as the brown paper gave it the look of the everyday which led back to the origins of the poem. The red also showed better on this paper with a matt finish and good opacity.
G.F. Smith Chromatico
Cromatico Digital is a pure white translucent paper designed specifically for all HP Indigo digital presses and dry toner technologies. Each sheet incorporates a silver strip at each end that activates the photoelectric cells when the paper is fed onto press.
I don’t have an HP Indigo digital press, but I gave it a go through the inkjet. It when through with no problems. This paper didn’t absorb the ink very well initially, it smudged when I removed it from the printer. Once the ink had dried the colours held well and had a slight sheen to them.
G.F. Smith Heaven 42
This paper is whiter than white. It feels so smooth to touch and very high end. It went through the printer without a hitch. The ink was still a little wet when it came out of the printer, but I was careful not to smudge it. The colour on this paper was a lot more vibrant than the other papers and had a glossy appearance.
Reflection
I was interesting how different papers reacted to being printed on. How it affected the colours and their opacity was interesting that the same ink and imagery can be affected by the type of paper and finish. Obviously this was only on an inkjet printer and not on a commercial press and result would differ depending on the printing process.
This exercise has given me more of an insight into how the type of paper used can affect the end result. This will be useful when choosing the papers and finishes for my final assignment.
craig519809.home.blog 