L O
S G U A R D O
E D U C A T O
IN
questi giorni in cui i monumenti celebrativi che presidiano le città occidentali sono oggetto di azioni e discussioni, rimbalza l’opinione che ci si possa legittimamente ribellare a uno status quo a patto che lo si faccia educatamente. Ma essere educati significa non dare fastidio a nessuno, o piuttosto essere consapevoli? Un approccio educato alle immagini richiederebbe due tipi di sguardo. Il primo è quello consapevole del fatto che la storia delle immagini va di pari passo con una funzione pratica. Guardiamo indietro: quando non esisteva la stampa a caratteri mobili e la lettura e la scrittura erano segreti custoditi negli scriptorium e studioli delle élite, le immagini accessibili al popolo laico erano il mezzo per veicolare le idee. Se è un’inesattezza parlare delle immagini medievali come della “Bibbia degli incolti” – spesso erano intrise di messaggi comprensibili solo ai dotti – si può però dire che gruppi scultorei e cicli di affreschi si snodavano in successione narrativa come storyboard di fumetti e sequenze cinematografiche. Il loro pubblico ne riceveva informazioni e suggestioni in base al proprio bagaglio cognitivo. E accanto ai messaggi elitari, c’erano simbolismi universali che parlavano a tutti attraverso i muri e le pietre. Perché oltre alla funzione di culto, le immagini assolvevano funzioni sociali e politiche, esprimendo rapporti di forza e affermando la legittimità di un potere. Sono storie lontane nel tempo, ma raccontano una costante dell’universo delle immagini nate per essere di pubblico dominio. Per affinare l’interpretazione di ciò che vediamo, poi, dovremmo adottare un secondo tipo di sguardo, capace di abbandonare il proprio punto di vista e adottarne altri, soprattutto quando si parla di un potere che per definizione può essere esercitato o subìto. Capire perché determinate immagini esistono in un luogo preciso, e ammettere la necessità di riposizionarle in uno spazio critico, è fondamentale anche oggi che sappiamo leggere e scrivere e consumiamo le immagini al pari di qualunque altro bene.
L ' E D I T O R I A L E
di M I C H E L A
P I B I R I
di M A R I L D E
M O T T A
Printing mania Avete una superficie a disposizione? Una T-shirt, una tazza, una tenda, l’anta di un armadio. Uno spazio piano, curvo, liscio, increspato, avallato, minuscolo, gigantesco e oltre. Ecco tutto, ma proprio tutto può essere stampato grazie allo sviluppo di straordinarie macchine e all’utilizzo di inchiostri innovativi. Anzi proprio questi hanno un ruolo centrale nel dar vita ad effetti tattili a rilievo, lampi di luce, senso di profondità e messa in scena del colore. Così, consapevoli delle più estrose possibilità, che non lasciano indietro nemmeno il più bizzarro desiderio, in tanti si stanno cimentando nel creare “qualcosa”. Una tendenza ormai così robusta da costituire un’area di business per il mercato consumer. Le copisterie si sono evolute prima con le macchine per imprimere la foto del proprio cane sulla maglietta, poi sono state in grado di assecondare la richiesta di rendere singolari oggetti comuni grazie ad apparecchiature di dimensioni progressivamente ridotte, ma molto performanti nella stampa. Ci sono precedenti. Negli anni ’70 la moda lanciò la logo mania, ora di nuovo in auge. Il settore promozionale ha incrementato la personalizzazione di gadget altrimenti anonimi. Alcuni brand del largo consumo hanno colto l’opportunità del digital printing per dare il via alla mass personalization con milioni di combinazioni di parole e immagini. Tutto ciò ha stimolato, in chiunque, il desiderio di creare qualcosa di personale, capace di fortificare il senso di possessività, di dar corpo a una visibilità che vuole gratificare il proprio ego e, per estensione, la propria casa. Infatti, le arti decorative trovano nuovo impulso. C’è un ritorno di trompe-l’oeil, murali e dipinti per terra stampati su supporti plastici che esaltano la tridimensionalità. Accanto all’opera di artisti, che mettono a disposizione multipli, chiunque si può cimentare in questa creatività democratica poiché i sistemi di stampa sono in grado di correggere e migliorare la prima prova “en amateur”.
M A R I L D E M OT TA . Nel 1978 ha scelto le pubbliche relazioni come professione.
Scrive e tiene corsi su alcune aree della comunicazione. Ad Personam® è la sua agenzia.
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Com'è fatto Print
ENGLISH VERSION C pg. 66
LUXOR® 108137 AMORPHOUS BLUE (COPERTINA)
La scritta “Lovers” è nobilitata con l’effetto metallizzato LUXOR® 108137 AMORPHOUS BLUE, uno degli ultimi arrivati nel catalogo Luxoro. Un blu che richiama i toni dello spazio e delle galassie lontane, delicato e allo stesso tempo etereo. Il tutto stampato a caldo con cliché hinderer+mühlich
CLICHÉ E COLORE A CALDO Luxoro è partner esclusivo in Italia del Gruppo KURZ, player mondiale e punto di riferimento internazionale nella produzione di attrezzature e tecnologie per la stampa a caldo e la stampa a freddo. L’offerta di Luxoro rappresenta il modo migliore per rendere unica e prestigiosa l’immagine di un brand in qualsiasi settore, che si tratti di packaging, etichette, editoria, sicurezza, cosmetica, automotive, elettrodomestici o moda, le proposte dedicate alla nobilitazione sono la migliore soluzione per rendere prestigioso e brillante ogni prodotto e packaging. Le tecnologie e i materiali decorativi che Luxoro propone sono tra i migliori al mondo e la competenza nell’offrire consulenza e servizio è un punto fermo della filosofia aziendale. Luxoro è fornitore di materiali di decorazione, ma è anche partner in grado di sviluppare con designer e creativi le migliori applicazioni per dare vita alle loro idee. Grazie a rigorose politiche aziendali volte alla sostenibilità ambientale, Luxoro è da tempo una realtà a energia 100% rinnovabile e totalmente a impatto zero. www.luxoro.it 0010
L’illustrazione dedicata alla musica è stampata con tecnologia digitale HP Indigo, più due successivi passaggi a caldo. La stampa digitale ha permesso la realizzazione di 15 versioni diverse della controcopertina grazie all’uso del dato variabile. Sono state create 15 coppie di colori abbinate a scritte che richiamano ogni volta un genere musicale diverso utilizzando i nuovi colori fluo di HP Indigo: rosa, giallo, verde e arancione. Cappello, piume, fiori, i dettagli sul ghepardo e i triangoli blu presentano tutti un aspetto traslucido, come se si potesse guardare attraverso. L’effetto raffinato di semitrasparenza è stato ottenuto con la stampa a caldo del LUMAFIN 799 CLEAR, della nuova linea Lumafin di Luxoro. Altri dettagli come i becchi degli uccelli, i fiori e le strisce sul ghepardo invece risplendono grazie al LUXOR® 108137 AMORPHOUS BLUE, un tono di blu metallizzato che dona freschezza e modernità. I cliché per la stampa a caldo sono di hinderer+mühlich.
GRUPPO CORDENONS RECYCO 300 g/m2 (controcover) e 250 g/m2(copertina)
Gruppo Cordenons rafforza il proprio impegno green con Recyco, la nuova carta bianca di alta gamma prodotta con il 100% di fibre riciclate in percentuale variabile tra pre-consumer e post-consumer (queste ultime fino al il 50%). Grazie a queste caratteristiche, Recyco si propone come simbolo del rispetto degli elementi di natura. Inclusa nel campionario Ecofriendly, Recyco è certificata FSC® Recycled ed è disponibile nella tinta White, in tre formati e in un’ampia gamma di grammature che spaziano dagli 80 ai 350 g/m2. Per le sue doti di ecosostenibilità, Recyco si presta a tutti i progetti di comunicazione e di packaging che fanno del loro concept l’armonia con il pianeta. Dotata di grande versatilità, offre tutte le caratteristiche di una carta naturale di pregio unite a una buona stampabilità ed è adatta alle principali tecniche di nobilitazione e di finishing.
CARTA COPERTINA E CONTROCOVER
STAMPA E NOBILITAZIONE
Gruppo Cordenons sviluppa e produce creative & technical paper offrendo al mercato internazionale oltre 2.500 prodotti differenti per target e applicazione. Dedica da sempre importanti risorse alla ricerca e sviluppo di carte innovative e originali per dare immediata risposta alle richieste dei clienti e rimanere sempre al passo con i trend del momento, offrendo una qualità eccellente fatta di contenuti tecnologici e creatività. Accanto alle più avanzate tecnologie, l’azienda mantiene intatta la vocazione a creare prodotti di alta gamma con una raffinata cura del dettaglio. Attraverso una produzione sempre più flessibile, Gruppo Cordenons ha sviluppato un ampio portafoglio di carte sempre all’avanguardia che uniscono all’estetica il plus degli effetti tattili. L’ampia gamma a catalogo è arricchita dalla possibilità di richiedere forniture di carte personalizzate in base alle specifiche esigenze di colorazione, grammatura, percentuale di fibre riciclate e finitura. www.gruppocordenons.com
Grafical nasce nel 1982 nel cuore della Valpolicella, dove opera da oltre 30 anni nel settore grafico, coniugando tradizione e innovazione per creare un prodotto di eccellente qualità. Ad oggi conta 80 collaboratori tra cui 35 nel reparto prestampa e amministrativo e gli altri 45 nella sala stampa. L’azienda si è specializzata, grazie alle tecnologie offset, serigrafica e digitale in rotolo, nella stampa di etichette autoadesive per il settore vitivinicolo. I macchinari utilizzati sono tutti d’ultima generazione e permettono di lavorare con le tecniche più esclusive e con materiali selezionati. In Grafical il lavoro viene seguito dall’ideazione alla stampa fino alla distribuzione. Il successo di Grafical è, infatti, derivato in buona parte dai punti di forza su cui fa leva da sempre: ottima qualità dei prodotti e brevi tempi di creazione ed evasione degli ordini. www.grafical.it
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I N C H I E S T A
È una sfida tecnica e creativa amata da designer e architetti, quella del glass packaging per le acque minerali. Una materia prima duttile da plasmare, trasparenze e colori che esaltano le forme, incisioni e rilievi che dialogano con i sistemi di chiusura e le etichette. Ma non solo: il design deve soddisfare requisiti funzionali irrinunciabili che preservino la purezza dell’acqua, mantenendo le sue qualità e proteggendola dalle contaminazioni. Ne abbiamo parlato con i manager di Sila – Acqua Fontenoce, Cedea, Lofoten Artic Water, leader nelle acque minerali premium confezionate nel vetro. Fu la Perrier dei primi del ‘900, panciuta e smeraldina, a essere l’unica bottiglia “di design”, come diremmo oggi. Lo fu per molti decenni poiché bisognerà aspettare il 1989, con il debutto della Tŷ Nant, per assistere alla rivoluzione del colore. La forma della bottiglia in vetro era sempre quella della clavetta, l’attrezzo ginnico, leggermente più allungata, ma il colore blu cobalto fu una novità assoluta e, nel giro di pochi anni, la bottiglia per l’acqua minerale divenne l’oggetto del desiderio di architetti e designer. Misurarsi con l’ideazione di nuove bottiglie in vetro fu considerata un’opportunità altrettanto gratificante che progettare un grattacielo, o quasi. Comunque una sfida complessa dal punto di vista creativo e tecnico giacché non c’è solo il contenitore da ideare, ma anche il sistema di chiusura, le etichette e i decori, nonché l’efficienza sulle linee di riempimento e l’ergonomia per il consumatore. Con la sua fluidità incandescente il vetro si adatta alle forme più straordinarie racchiuse negli stampi, offre trasparenze cristalline, colori che giocano con la luce, o superfici sabbiate che ricordano le brine autunnali. Saggiamente sa anche proteggere il contenuto dai raggi solari con la tecnica Ultraviolet Absorbing Glass. Il vetro offre una superficie levigatissima ai decori oggi realizzabili anche in digitale con inchiostri che non compromettono la sua riciclabilità. La lavorazione del lato esterno tanto di quello interno con incisioni, alto e basso rilievi, modulazione della densità del vetro conferiscono alla rappresentazione visiva effetti di movimento e, citando Bernard Berenson, si potrebbe parlare di “valori tattili” che incantano.
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Nuove lavorazioni e nuove finiture accompagnano l'eccezionale stampa di sempre. Vieni a scoprire le ultime nobilitazioni digitali e ti mostreremo quanto è facile splendere. Verniciatura UV, Stampa a Caldo e Finiture Speciali
Questo stampato è stato realizzato con: Stampa Quadricromia Offset + Finitura Sabbia + Dettagli Lucidi UV + Stampa a Caldo
Tutti dovrebbero avere il diritto di brillare. Da oggi, con noi, è possibile.
Scoprile: sprint24.com/nobilitazioni
4/2020
Sprint24 è la tipografia online che ti permette di stampare biglietti da visita, brochure, cataloghi, adesivi e tanto altro in modo semplice e rapido, senza mai rinunciare alla qualità. Da più di 15 anni presenti sul web e con più di 15.000 aziende servite, la nostra tradizione tipografica si sposa perfettamente con le ultime tecnologie di stampa, taglio e, non ultimo, con tutto ciò che le nobilitazioni degli stampati: dal più piccolo biglietto da visita, fino al catalogo più illustre, i nostri stampati diventano dei veri e propri gioielli con raffinate lavorazioni della carta e ricercate tecniche di stampa. Il nostro goal è farti avere il prodotto che desideri, nella maniera più facile possibile: è per questo che ti accompagniamo dalla creazione del file, risolvendo dubbi, soddisfacendo richieste e dando delucidazioni, fino alla ricezione dei tuoi stampati direttamente in ufficio. Plastificazione Sabbia, effetto ruvido Scegliere di plastificare uno stampato, vuol dire proteggerlo e renderlo più durevole. Ma chi ha detto che non possa essere la plastificazione stessa, un plus del tuo stampato? Questa nuova tipologia di film materico, con il suo effetto sabbiato si sposa perfettamente con nobilitazioni quali i dettagli lucidi UV e la stampa a caldo come puoi vedere e sentire tu stesso. La plastificazione Sabbia è forza e grinta, sceglila per i tuoi stampati migliori o per renderli i migliori. Dettagli UV classici e 3D Tra le nobilitazioni più utilizzate, rendono brillanti e unici i tuoi stampati. Sono due le finiture dei tuoi dettagli UV tra cui scegliere: la prima, classica, rende lucide le zone di interesse con un appariscente effetto bidimensionale; la seconda invece è una novità e si tratta della lucidatura 3D a rilievo per un effetto tattile oltre che visivo: ancora più spessore e maggiore lucentezza. Non sai scegliere? Con Sprint24 puoi avere entrambe le lavorazioni sullo stesso stampato, creando un fantastico gioco di texture e rilievi. Inoltre è anche possibile ordinare una sola copia del tuo stampato UV a rilievo, per toccare con mano e godere con gli occhi di questa meravigliosa lavorazione. Stampa a caldo La stampa a caldo, presente in 6 diverse colorazioni in aggiunta ai classici oro e argento, renderà i tuoi stampati eleganti e raffinati. Biglietti da visita, cataloghi, partecipazioni, inviti di livello e non solo. Se vuoi creare una linea Exclusive del tuo prodotto, se la tua pubblicazione merita una ristampa preziosa o se vuoi che il tuo logo non venga archiviato prima ancora di esser visto, la stampa a caldo è la nobilitazione migliore, perfettamente abbinabile con i tuoi colori aziendali.
www.sprint24.com info@sprint24.com 06 59 42 860
C O L L E C T I O N
4/2020
T Y P O G R A P H Y
QUARANTYPE SUNSHINE
BORING SANS
Z E TA F O N T S L’alto artigianato del type design digitale
Siamo in un palazzo storico sulla quinta cerchia di mura del centro di Firenze, a pochi passi dalla basilica di Santa Croce, dove il marmo mostra, incise, le lettere che ispirarono al calligrafo e tipografo Hermann Zapf le forme del noto carattere Qui, negli spazi di Studio Kmzero, troOptima. BLACKER PRO
HAGRID
viamo la digital foundry Zetafonts, estrema evoluzione contemporanea delle fonderie tradizionali di caratteri tipografici, che dal 2001 a oggi ha pubblicato più di 1800 font differenti, appartenenti a circa un centinaio di famiglie tipografiche. Zetafonts è la prima foundry italiana su DaBORING SANS
font.com, con oltre 22 milioni di download, la prima su Behance.net con quasi 250.000 like. È stata premiata dalle riviste internazionali Communication Art (USA) e Print Magazine (USA) e segnalata da testate come Creative Review (UK), Slanted (Ger) e Eye (UK). Con i tre fondatori Cosimo Lorenzo Pancini, Francesco Canovaro e Debora Manetti andiamo alla scoperta del type design: come nasce e si afferma un carattere digitale, quali sono i trend del momento e molto altro. COCO GOTHIC
di S T E F A N O
T O R R E G R O S S A
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ro Porcini like this, in a video call in the New York time zone, is an event that properly restores the sense of a naturally lived hybrid community that until a few months ago had been unthinkable. The exceptional event is for having a detailed look at the strategies that PepsiCo - leading multinational in the global food & beverage sector with 2019 revenues of over $67 billion - is putting in place at a time of global crisis and considerable social unrest such as this. Strategies in which design plays an essential role in the management of a truly vast geographic and product portfolio. What is the role of design today in a global company that addresses very different audiences from a geographical and cultural point of view? The designer is, by definition, a professional who spends his or her day as an ethnographer, anthropologist and psychologist, trying to understand people’s needs and dreams to create solutions that have value for them. They might be products, for those who do product design, or brands, forms of communication, packaging or experiences. There are those who design the products and brands of today, and there are those who try to imagine those of the future, and this is what we do in our Design & Innovation centre. In our work, we always have to take into account three pillars. The first is the human sciences - the so-called desirability: designers come to the human being from a point of view balanced between emotions and rationality to create something that people love, whether it is defined as “cool”, or “meaningful”. The second pillar is viability: creating economic value for the company. This is an essential aspect even for the purist designer, who wants to create value for society regardless of economic value: an approach, if you like, that’s a bit idealistic and common to many young designers. To them, my answer is that creating financially relevant products is necessary to create value for the company. We must rely on a business and distribution network that can reach as many people as possible with our ideas. The third pillar is feasibility. This is the moment the idea - rich in meaning and marketable – has to be produced using the manufacturing processes that are right in terms of what the company can do. Even the most amazing ideas have to take into account technical constraints and what can be achieved with the right profitability. Everything, for us, must balance between these three dimensions. What are the main changes, in terms of approaches and innovations, that are taking place in the field of large-scale design? We live in a world where today more than ever, it is necessary to focus on people. In the history of global business, the human being has never really been at the centre, except in the initial stages of invention and putting brands and products on the market; but the moment people began to think on scale, within those same successful and hyper-efficient companies, that initial human value was often lost. Innovation, once the prerogative of large companies that had a monopoly, was all about business, but
things are radically changing because anyone can now have access to finance thanks to crowdfunding or entities of various kinds that support start-ups’ ideas. As well as that, the cost of technology is going down. You just need to think of digital printing and 3D printing that allow you to create products in short runs at reasonable costs; e-commerce enables you to get directly to the consumer, social media allow you to communicate. Technology, communication, distribution: these are all areas that once represented insurmountable entry barriers, and prevented competition with large multinationals and their billion-dollar budgets. Looking at this new landscape of start-ups, if a multinational doesn’t create something of value for the human being, something relevant and exceptional, it has to be aware that someone else will do it instead. They just need to be weak in one dimension - from the product to the communication, from the packaging to the distribution up to the purchasing experience - because the new realities attack the multinationals’ business starting from needs that haven’t been met. Large companies no longer have the chance to protect mediocrity through entry barriers: excellence will win. PepsiCo has put diversity at the heart of its corporate philosophy. How did you come to this real revolution of values, and what do you do concretely to overcome social inequities? In the United States, there is a mighty egalitarian push from society. We’re seeing it these days, but it is a need that goes way back in time and the issues of diversity in large multinationals are the order of the day. We have a Chief Diversity Officer, but all the big companies are making the same conscious effort to some extent. Indra Nooyi, our former CEO (from 2006 to 2018, ed), was undoubtedly an icon of this evolution. Her professional profile grew within the company, and her position was chosen in the board of top managers to demonstrate an approach that the company strongly desired and that she carried forward in an even broader and more balanced way. I personally push in the direction of diversity for two underlying reasons. The first one is that companies like PepsiCo, with their vast resources, visibility and access to billions of people, have a social responsibility to help communities that have been discriminated against, marginalized or exploited throughout human history and still are. To show that with some figures, in PepsiCo we have 43% women and 57% men, but we still need to make an effort to balance the team equally. We have the biggest recruiters in the world but, especially in design it’s still difficult to find women and people of colour in high-level roles, and the reasons are social: the types of studies taken, socio-economic constraints that lead to career breaks. We have to force the search for these talents, even if statistically there are fewer of them, to get the right representation in our mix and to send a clear message to society that the conditions that create inequality at the outset are also changing. The second reason is that to innovate, we need to observe the reality surrounding
us with fresh eyes, those of Pascoli’s “little boy” who keeps the ability to marvel at every detail. I apply my point of view, but if I have someone next to me with a different cultural background because he or she comes from another country, is of another sex, has other political, religious and sexual preferences - obviously, we’re reasoning by macro-categories that don’t cover the full complexity of the issues - then diversity is no longer just a social commitment. Those individual points of view different to mine represent millions of people. All together, they potentially represent the whole of humanity. Diversity is the possibility of creating innovation where no one had ever seen an opportunity. How is it possible to convey the values of inclusion and emancipation through packaging? I’m referring to a brand like Life WTR, which supports communities of artists and is part of the great debate about the low presence of female artists in American museums, or Stacy’s, which supports the ideas of female entrepreneurs. There are three levels of interaction between people and products. When they are in front of the shelf, or in front of a monitor, people are attracted first of all by what they see, in a visceral interaction where the aesthetics of the product are fundamental. Then comes the moment when you interact with the product from both a rational and emotional point of view: you take it in your hand to understand what it is and if you really want it. The third moment implies a reflective relationship, and it is triggered when that product actually makes sense to the consumer, who wants to talk about it to the world because it stimulates and inspires him or her: we call it semiotic benefit. As designers, if we’re going to move forward with inclusion, we have to, first of all, create a product that triggers a visceral reaction, has a strong impact and creates emotions: all the talk about diversity comes after - as in the case of Life WTR - the investments we make to support creative communities emerge when knowledge of the brand becomes deeper. The aesthetic part of the design, which blocks people in front of the shelf, is the vehicle to trigger the dialogue. Let’s go back to feasibility. What is the role of printing technologies in your creative process? Technologies are critical in trying to create the impact I’m talking about. On the Life WTR label we have used printing technologies that work on different layers to give more depth to the graphics and more impact to the extremely bright colours. Such sophisticated graphics help us to place that bottle on a premium level: we’re talking about art, so paying extreme attention to print details is essential. On the other hand, there are technological limitations that prevent us from doing to scale everything we imagine for our brands. My dream would be to be able to flexibly print different graphics for different brands very quickly, so we could react instantly to trends and what is happening with total packaging flexibility. These are possibilities that digital printing provides, but they don’t apply to the immense volumes of production – we’re talking about billions of pieces a day - that we
have to support, both for a question of cost and for production speed. We do use digital printing - even direct bottle printing - in our laboratories, but limited to micro-editions. I dream of a total integration between the packaging structure and the labels, the possibility of working on extreme transparencies without defects - bubbles, detachments, scratches - so that the brand and the message totally fuse with the shape of the bottle and the can, all at affordable costs for the consumer. PepsiCo invests billions of dollars in technological research and development: printing is an issue that we are examining from every possible angle because - apart from the creative and innovation demands - for us, with the volumes we produce, the slightest modification to an ink or in grammage has a huge economic impact. But I, being a great optimist, think of limits as an opportunity: I can’t wait for someone in the technical and scientific world to solve a problem to allow designers and companies to innovate. On the other hand, even today, in Italian design, the enlightened entrepreneur or creative is still celebrated, but everyone always forgets the third crucial figure - the technologist, the scientist, the one who takes the dreams of two crazy visionaries and turns them into reality. Without him or her, nothing would happen: visionaries spend hours and hours in the factory with the craftsperson, the scientist, the engineer to solve the problems of manufacturability. Where are we with the sustainability of the supply chain in the eyes of consumers, and what is PepsiCo’s approach to the need for a global ecological transition? We need to educate seriously about sustainability, with school and the media as starting points, to avoid shallow approaches. Let’s take plastic: from a simplistic point of view, it’s an obvious problem, because we find it spread over the environment and it kills life forms. But if you look at the entire production cycle, you find that aluminium and glass often have a much higher impact than the broad category of plastics. The first key concept then is to observe the entire life cycle of the product, from production to transport and distribution to use and disuse. We have to remember that the only zero impact product is the non-product, but since we need products and we can’t be idealistic in the extreme, the second concept is reuse, and the third is recycling. But these two steps have implications outside the company, from the consumer to the governments that have to provide the necessary infrastructure. Our strategy involves working on all three of these dimensions, which is why we’re part of several consortia together with other multinationals, including our competitors. Once we’ve done our bit, the fundamental element is the collaboration of consumers who can change their habits starting from closed ecosystems, such as work environments. In our Design Centre, for example, except for Life WTR which has the rPET bottle, there are no plastic bottles. We acquired SodaStream a year and a half ago because for us, the future is in the reusable container, yet it is still struggling to establish itself among consumers.
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affects mattes, which it is generally almost always better to varnish. There are dozens of gloss and matte coated papers in the offerings of paper mills because they are the most widespread for most printed objects with a range covering all weights and uses. With papers that are now highly tried and tested, and some of which have existed for decades, such as Magno by Sappi and R4 by Burgo Group to name but two, it is always good practice to have updated cards and samples. Beyond the aesthetic choices, it is always a good idea to think about the intended use: for example, would you use a gloss coating for a notepad? Better not to, since the reduction of porosity and the use of resins and latex hinders the transfer of ink or pencil lead. And yet, there is no shortage of schoolbooks printed on this paper. SPECIAL OR GLAZED COATINGS Taking the coating to the extreme results in super-coated coatings with a very smooth enamel effect. The coating in these papers has a high binding agent content that almost lacquers the surface to a mirror finish. To achieve this extreme effect, the coating is applied off-line and can be used on one side only. They can be white with excellent colour rendering and coloured, in pulp or only on the surface. A good example is the Bindakote series by Favini that is available in mono and bi-patinated white, coloured (including black), pearly and satin. But the use of pigments opens up to the most varied finishes - mica, metallic (like Fedrigoni’s Splendorlux Metal), gold and silver (like Gruppo Cordenons’ Venicelux series), iridescent and pearly like Fedrigoni’s Sirio Pearl. These papers all have good rigidity, high creasing resistance, excellent die-cutting and folding-pasting performance. They are particularly suitable for greeting cards, invitations, catalogues, brochures, luxury editions, luxury packaging, menus, and business cards. NATURAL UNCOATED This name generally refers to natural paper that has not been coated. Usually, they can be classified either by fibre, “with wood” and “without wood” (i.e. with pure cellulose), or by surface finish, “smooth” and “rough”. They range from uncoated paper for publishing - what we usually identify as the classic paper for printing prestige works with a lot of text (in other words, editorial publications, books and manuals, and paperbacks) to the much less prestigious newsprint, in the improved newsprint variants, coated or calendered-white for offset or rotogravure. These papers are very porous and consequently are also very absorbent so that, if they are not treated with resins that reduce ink penetration, they have a yield that tends to reduce the colours in the case of solid backgrounds or excessive use of black. What makes the difference in natural papers is, above all, the presence of wood (or rather, lignin) which tends to turn yellow with time, and not the calendering, which only contributes to making them smoother. It is especially noticeable
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in books that through exposure to light and oxidisation, turn yellow at the edges over time while the centre of the page preserves the original colour, and in high circulation magazines printed in rotogravure that use a smooth but low-quality paper. There are also high-quality papers that are not affected by this problem, such as Fedrigoni’s Splendorgel Extra White made of pure cellulose or the so-called Bible paper. This type of paper is extremely thin, with weights between 25 and 40 g/m², is completely woodfree and contains cotton or linen to increase resistance. It is used to make Bibles, encyclopaedias, dictionaries or books that have a large number of pages. An example is Koehler’s PakoPharm, which has a gloss of 100. There are even natural coloured papers in pulp, like the Pergraphica from the Mondi paper mill, which is also available in an Infinite Black version. CREATIVE PAPER But the beauty of paper comes in its creative, high-performance and very communicative versions. Here you are spoilt for choice with types, colourings and finishes. These are still industrial products, but they maintain the feeling of craftsmanship that standard or consumer papers do not have. Traditionally, they are divided into marked, laid and embossed. In general, they are all characterised by a surface that is not smooth but marked by a texture, and they have a rough and textured appearance. The markings have bas-relief motifs imprinted with felt during the sheet formation phase in the paper mill. As the grammage increases, the marking also becomes very sharp. This is the case with Modigliani Bianca/ Neve (Gruppo Cordenons) or Tintoretto Gesso (Fedrigoni), a natural paper made of pure cellulose, “crisp” to the touch, marked with felt on both sides: the surface pattern is light and uniform and seems like “orange peel”. It lends itself to the creation of bookshop editions, brochures, pamphlets, and coordinated graphic materials but also menus, invitations and greeting cards. The laid papers can be recognised thanks to a regular, more or less thick weave, made up of vertical stripes, called wire marks, or horizontal multi-stripes, called ‘catenelle’ (chains). The effect achieved is a chiaroscuro that has only an aesthetic function. They are particularly suitable for luxury editions, monographs, brochures, inserts and catalogues, and are used in paper-making and bookbinding. There are also laid papers in adhesive versions for food use, such as wine labels. Examples are the Label Stucco Corolla by Fedrigoni in white and ivory versions and the Constellation Snow by Arconvert. Care should be taken not to confuse kraft paper, which appears to be laid, with ‘artistic’ laid papers. We’ll look at it later, but packaging paper has remarkable physical qualities that go beyond its raw appearance. Embossed papers are blind embossed through the goffering process by which an embossed design is reproduced on paper, such as the texture of leather, the grain of wood, a mark, geometric or creative figures, through a cliché with the
help of pressure and possibly heat. This is done through two rollers, one of steel and the other covered with paper or cotton, which imprint a more regular pattern than the marked ones, but with a much greater variety than the laid paper that only has vertical or horizontal patterns. This paper, also known as embossed, can be produced on commission to obtain textured, striped, hammered, geometric effects inspired by natural textures: finishes that are chosen above all for packaging because they can convey unique, three-dimensional tactile sensations that add more value to the print. Remember, however, that altering the flatness of the paper also means changing the way it reflects light and consequently, the colour or degree of gloss. WATERMARKED PAPER This type of paper came into being at the very birth of the paper mills, probably at the end of the 13th century in Fabriano to distinguish their production with marks made directly on the paper but only visible when backlit. The anti-counterfeiting function of the watermark is still in use in banknotes, tax stamps, diplomas and certificates and in all those printed documents where the guarantee of authenticity is necessary, but it can also have an artistic value. Unlike paper marked with felt or embossed by roller, in watermarks, the design is in the mixture itself and not imprinted afterwards. The watermark is obtained during the formation of the paper when the pulp is still very wet. The pulp is “marked” by the reliefs on the formation plane by a negative pattern of the finished watermark. The fibres of the paper are naturally arranged following the reliefs and inlets, creating deposits that are almost imperceptible to the touch, but when backlit, they give life to drawings and inscriptions. Depending on how it is imprinted on the paper, the watermark is separately identified in Mould-made, Electrotype or Fourdrinier: what changes is the intensity and variety of the design’s tonal contrasts. Watermarked, however, does not mean parchment. That marbling, or clouding as they say in jargon, of certain parchment effect papers used for art prints, parchments, invitations, such as the Marina series by Fedrigoni or the Laguna by Favini, and which can be seen when backlit, is provided by the composition of the paste and not by the use of watermarks. Apart from the use of security papers which Fabriano Security is the leader in, the paper mills offer watermarked papers mainly for stationery and correspondence, but also for offset printing. An example is the Century Cotton series by Fedrigoni. But it’s worth exploring the many offerings from smaller paper mills that produce watermarked paper in a handcrafted manner to create genuinely exclusive prints. Beware only of the ‘runnability’ of these niche products since they don’t have the same guarantees as industrial papers. RECYCLED PAPER Recycled paper is produced from the waste of printers and the leftovers from the paper
mills’ cuts, using up to 50 -100% of the recovered fibres. The reuse takes place after a particular chemical process removes the inks from the fibres. It should not be confused with recyclable paper, i.e. paper that can be reclaimed up to six times after its first use thus preserving natural resources. Recycled paper can be coated or uncoated and can have a natural look, tending towards grey, or it can have a high degree of whiteness. Let’s debunk the myth of the poor quality of this type of paper: recycled paper has a condition similar to virgin cellulose paper, as well as a lower environmental impact. It is used for art books, institutional financial reports, catalogues, postcards, brochures and invitations. Yet not all papers are suitable for making recycled paper. According to Comieco, if the paper or cardboard has been soiled, it cannot be sorted - so no tissues or greasy kitchen towels. Obviously, paper with synthetic parts or non-cellulose materials, such as paper laminated with aluminium or plastic, receipts and POS receipts cannot be recycled. This is one of the most obvious mistakes: they are made of thermal paper where the ink is directly in the fibre and is activated by heat. Processing waste paper results in a fibre loss of about 20-25% each time, so the same waste paper can be reused about 4 or 5 times. Given this situation, it is evident that it will never be possible to eliminate the use of virgin cellulose; otherwise, the quality of all the paper produced will be degraded too much. Today one of the largest paper mills specialising in the production of recycled paper for offset and digital printing is Steinbeis Papier in Germany with an annual output of about 300,000 tons of paper. These are light-coated papers from the Charisma and Select line. The former is intended for reel printing characterised by low grammage for the printing of magazines, catalogues and advertising material; the latter, with grammages up to 130 g/m² and excellent resistance to creasing and finishing, is intended for covers. But there are also more sought-after recycled papers such as Fedrigoni’s Woodstock: made up of 80% recycled fibres that can be glimpsed on the surface and 20% pure cellulose, it is a recycled paper with a smoothed surface finish and, in the non-coloured version, a delicate birch white colour that conveys a feeling of essential naturalness. ECO-FRIENDLY PAPER Recycled also brings to mind eco-friendly, but the two things are not synonymous. The definition of eco-friendly paper refers to recycled paper with 100% recycled fibres and not subject to de-inking or bleaching operations. So recycled paper is not necessarily also eco-friendly: it is the use of waste paper, as well as the absence of processing and pollutants that make this substrate an eco-friendly product in all its aspects. Recycled paper, on the other hand, is different, and processes that have an environmental impact are used to obtain it. However, paper mills are working to reduce or eliminate this impact. ICMA just recently announced its new 100% R Bases paper, 100% recycled,
FSC Recycled Credit certified, produced without the intermediate step of the production of recycled pulp - with the resulting energy and resource savings - and made without the use of optical brighteners. In general, eco-friendly means a paper that reflects specific production standards that respect the environment. In this sense, FSC remains the most accredited forest certification in the world, guaranteeing proper forest management and traceability of the derived products and the entire supply chain. At present there is practically no paper that does not have FSC certification in one of its forms: “100%” when the material comes entirely from certified forests; “recycled” when the wood or paper in the product comes from recycled and recovered material; “mixed” indicating that the wood or paper in the product comes from FSC certified material, recycled material or verified wood (not less than 70%). PULP-TINTED PAPER You just need to browse through any catalogue of papers to see that paper is not only white but can be coloured even before it is printed. Pulp tinting is the common denominator of almost all the types seen so far and to obtain them paper mills add dyes directly into the tint mixing. They are different kinds of dyes, derived from natural or synthetic pigments. In particular, some paper mills use waste by-products from agro-industrial processing which, compared to pigments, give a softer and more natural colouring. But when should you choose a pulp tint rather than printing a white paper? Contrary to what you might think, one discriminating factor is not the need to have a precise tint; this is because paper mills are now able to create coloured papers for the sample. A pulp tint has the advantage of allowing the same processing as white paper without looking “split” not only in the fold and crease points - a problem that most of all affects the more fibrous papers or counter-fibre points - but also in cutting and die-cutting. Unless special finishes or coatings are applied on the surfaces, even with ennoblements such as varnishing and plasticising, they behave very well but be careful just with hot printing: metal ribbons react with certain substances such as carbon black, which is why some paper mills use pigments without Carbon Black in their pulp dyeing to overcome this problem. One example is Fedrigoni Sirio Colour Rough, which is FSC certified, made of pure E.C.F. cellulose, biodegradable and recyclable. Pulp-tinted cardboards, which exploit thickness for different colour effects, are also interesting. Borsotti produces cardboards for coupling with black or beige core with thicknesses up to 4 mm. SPECIAL PAPER If we look around at paper with unique features, if not with superpowers, there is more than meets the eye. Because paper is an extraordinary material: a few essential elements mixed in different ways, the addition of chemicals or special treatments and you get papers with different physi-
cal characteristics, which are sometimes surprising. There are greaseproof and stain-resistant papers, such as Arconvert’s Immaculate, which are impenetrable to vegetable oils and fats and therefore perfect for olive oil packaging and for all those products that require resistance to oily substances. Before this, the alternative was to use naturally dark-coloured papers to try to mask the stain or self-adhesive films that did not reflect the natural characteristics of the product. There are anti-mashing papers, i.e. resistant to humidity and water, not only for large formats such as Blue Back opaque, studied and tested to resist outdoor weathering, but also for labels. These are 100% natural papers made of cotton fibre with anti-mildew and anti-mashing treatment, with hammered and laid finishings, which are less porous and suitable for prestigious work such as wine and liqueur labels and are in general able to withstand the ice-bucket test. Vegetable parchment is anti-moisture and resistant to fats and cooking. It is suitable for direct contact with fatty foods such as butter, fresh cheese, cold cuts, meat, fish, baked goods. Similar, but not the same, is baking paper, which can withstand temperatures of up to 250 degrees, even though it can break down at over 220 degrees. It can be a paper simply coated with silicone, or paper similar to parchment obtained in a bath based on chemical agents such as sulphuric acid. Another high-performance paper, the so-called Kraft paper, is a type of packaging paper technically better than ordinary wrapping paper. In German Kraft means strength, and this paper makes resistance its main strength. Produced according to the kraft process, invented by Carl F. Dahl in 1879, it is made of softwood pulp treated with moderately refined sulphate to maximise tensile strength and burst strength without compromising tear resistance. It is a type of paper produced with weights ranging from 65 to 100 g/m2 that is widely used in the manufacture of multi-sheet bags for cement, lime, fertilisers, flour, chemical products, synthetic resins, as well as various container bags and pouches. EXTREME PAPER Not to mention paper suitable for coupling with plastic or metal films, there is also a type of paper that we can define as extreme because it can resist its two traditional enemies: tearing and fire. Tear-resistant paper isn’t really paper – it’s synthetic. For example, Polyart has a plastic base of high-density polyethene, which is resistant to tears, water, oil and many chemicals. For this reason, it is suitable for cards, menus, maps and products subjected to continuous manipulation, but above all, it is printed, folded and cut like any other coated paper without limits of ‘runnability’. But there are also others based on Tyvek, a non-woven fabric patented by DuPont, the company that makes holiday club bracelets or disposable clothing. With a paper-like appearance, it is not only resistant to acids and bases but also breathable yet impermeable to water, non-toxic and recyclable. It prints, does
not tear but it can be cut. On the other hand, Burgo Group’s Solaris Flam has been developed to resist fire, designed for printing indoor posters and for coupling on cardboard for displays where the printing substrate must meet quality requirements and comply with strict safety standards such as in shopping centres, subways, railway stations, galleries, cinemas, theatres, and museums. Treated with flame retardant agents based on inorganic compounds of phosphorus and nitrogen, it is classified as M1 (non-flammable fuel) as a reaction to fire. It is wood-free with good opacity and whiteness and with excellent performance in both offset and digital printing. Finally, there are also anti-bacterial papers such as Protections made up of 100% pure pulp, whose fibres are treated with stabilised silver ions with natural anti-bacterial properties that are stable over time. In 2012, the Italian Institute of Technology patented a system to make cellulose materials such as paper or cotton fabrics, waterproof, magnetic, anti-bacterial or fluorescent through nano-particles, without compromising their primitive characteristics, thus remaining printable and workable precisely as before. In short, paper is part of our life: there would still be a lot to discover, but it would take reams and reams... of paper, of course. — THE WORDS OF THE PAPER GRAMMAGE Grammage is the specific weight of paper expressed in grammes per square metre (g/ m²). Its value depends on the thickness and the consistency of the sheet of paper; the latter is linked to the type of processing, the amount of wood fibre present (the thicker the wood fibre, the thicker it is), the composition of the paper itself and the treatments undergone. Usually, as the weight increases, so does the thickness of the paper and its stiffness. However, this is not a strict rule, as there are thin but extraordinarily consistent and rigid types of paper. There are different grammage classifications, but the simplest is as follows: • Plain paper or Bible paper weighs between 25 and 35 grammes per square metre. • Lightweight paper: between 60 and 90 grammes (for example, for photocopies) • Printing paper: between 90 and 140 grammes (letterhead) • Lightboard: between 140 and 360 grammes (business cards, presentations) • Cardboard: all paper materials exceeding 360 grammes
DEGREE OF WHITENESS The degree of whiteness indicates the degree of brightness of the paper compared to the set standard (magnesium oxide = 100%). The higher the degree of whiteness, the whiter the paper. In this case as well, the degree of whiteness of the paper depends on the fibre strength and the chemical processes carried out during processing.
DEGREE OF GLOSS It represents the way paper reflects light. Greater brilliance has the effect of greater reflection and therefore, a higher degree of gloss. Given the maximum gloss factor fixed at 100 (light reflected from a black glass), a glossy paper ranges from 50 to 80, a satin paper (silk) from 20 to 40 and matte from 10 to 20. POROSITY (PPS) The geometric shape of the paper surface is defined as the deviation from the ideal perfectly flat surface. The smaller and more evenly distributed the irregularities on the surface, the smoother the paper is. The higher the PPS value, the more porous the paper is. OPACITY Indicates the degree of impermeability to light, expressed as a percentage of the reflected light. A high value indicates an opaque paper, while below a particular value, we speak of transparent paper. The weight is undoubtedly decisive in increasing opacity as well as the thickness and colour of the paper. BULK INDEX The bulk index is measured using a micrometre, and it is the ratio between the thickness and the weight of a sheet of paper. PAPER GRAIN Paper is made up of a series of fibres generally arranged in the paper-making direction. Depending on the type of paper and the raw material used (pulp, wood pulp, recycled paper, rags, etc.), the structure can be more or less macroscopic. Humidity is the critical factor to which paper fibres are most sensitive: the higher the humidity, the more the fibres tend to swell in width, up to 20%. In this sense, paper can be considered a living material. FORMAT It indicates the surface of the substrate, the so-called sheet. According to ISO 216, the initial format is a sheet of one square metre measuring 84.1×118.9 cm. Subsequent measurements are obtained by ideally cutting the square metre along its largest side in half. The following formats are A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 etc. The most common format is A4. There is also the B series, used for posters and large prints, and the C series, mainly used for envelopes. And yet, you will hardly ever hear an offset printer talking about ISO formats: because once the sheet has been printed, most of the time it is folded and then trimmed to the required finished format. And to do this, the printer must leave a margin to work with for the packer, thinking about formats called “immaculate”. This is why the most common paper sizes used by printers are 70x100 cm and 64x88 cm with their 50x70, 35x50 and 44x64 cm sub-multiples. This is for sheetfed printers, at least: for reels, the height is used.
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