The genius of print: 26 jobs that are mind-expanding

This calendar-cum-scribble pad from MatrikaS, in its entirety, reflects the brand’s tagline - Scribble your heart away. The die-cut box is crafted such as to hold the calendar and make the scribble sheets accessible at an arm’s distance, when the need be. Branding and innovation is essential to stay ahead in a competitive market and that’s why MatrikaS was born from the Sivakasi-based SFA Prints’ stable. The firm treats its books with equal love. And this we say from the PrintWeek India Book Printer (Academic & Trade) of the Year 2015 title that it bagged in October for reviving and reproducing Tamil literature books originally published in 1867

Have you struggled to make the perfect coffee for yourself? Lo and behold! Nescafe has come to your rescue. This laminate sachet of Nescafe’s instant coffee comes with a spoon which doubles up as a clip and for measuring the perfect proportion for a single cup. That’s not all; once the pouch is opened it can be sealed and stored. This makes it easier for one to store and reuse the coffee and prevent the formation of lumps due to oxidation. A fresh cup (sometimes two), everyday, hassle free

This calendar from Unbox is themed around the structures around the world. The calendar is printed on 240gsm Finos Rendezvous on a four-colour offset press. Every month is treated differently, literally. The effects on each leaf is distinct and dramatic. For example, the month of June features the Pyramids. Here, the neon spot UV is done on the pyramid, which gets charged by any light source. A little over 53 seconds, the pyramids glow. In the dark it looks spectacular. The rigid box that holds the calendar gives it a premium look. Unbox is an independent venture promoted by Pune-based Akurti

Re-printing history. And that is exactly what Jak Printers did this new year. The single-side printed two fold card, which was printed on the 135-year-old Alexander Litho Press, gave us a chance to revel in history. ‘The Best is yet to come’, ‘Happy New Year 2016’, an image of the Alexander Litho Press, and the Jak logo was all that the card carried on it. But for all ardent lovers of Gutenberg, this one is for keeps. And if the card finds place in your trove, Khushru Patel and Aspi Forbes say their purpose will be fulfilled. PS: If you have still not received this card, do not feel disheartened. We have heard, Patel and Forbes are signing some more

This limited edition book titled Portfolio is published by Filter Press. It is a testimonial, of sorts, of the genre of Bollywood design adapted for the regional markets. This book about the Bollywood lyrics book covers was printed using one of the oldest printing methods - the letterpress. All the covers in Gujarati in the book have been created with single colour, maybe with an intention to save cost at that time With a print length of 150 copies, it is just perfect for a designer’s collection and the odd cinema lovers. We saw one such letterpress machine in all its glory at the Government Institute of Printing Technology College in Mumbai

We received a diary for the New Year from ITC Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division (ITC PSPD). The expectations are always high from ITC. And they always live up to it. The diary, in all ways communicates the company’s attitude towards ‘Going Green’. To begin with, the inner pages of the diary have been printed on 75gsm Perma White using vegetable inks. Well, like the company says, ‘it is setting the standards’. For ITC PSPD, the green initiatives go beyond its products. It has total plantations of 1,63,000 hectares, which generates over 73 million person-days of employment. In addition, ITC has facilitated the certification of 22, 804 hectares of plantations which are owned by more than 24,000 small and marginal farmers

The hard bound coffee table book by Audi is one for keeps for the car and travel aficionados. The book printed at Indigo Press in Byculla traces the 20,000km journey of Audi across two continents from Germany to India in an Audi Q7. The book, printed on 145gsm Gruppo Natural Evolution paper for text pages and cover with 170gsm Sappi foreign art paper, gives the book a premium look

‘Main aaj bhi feinke hue paise nahi uthata’; “Jab tak todenge nahi, tab tak chodenge nahi!’; ‘Money brings respect’. Sounds too cheesy and blunt? But not for Ahmedabad-based Image Care. The calendar from Image Care came packed in a jute cover tied with a rope and to top it, there was a red chilly pasted on it which reads, ‘Jab yeh calendar ata hai, naya saal ussi din se shuru hota hai’. Now that’s what we say is a spicy attitude!

To showcase the power of digital print, HP has compiled some of the most creative work done by the HP users in 2015. The book displays the works of the large retail players to artists leveraging the flexibility and opportunities enabled by digital printing. Each chapter of the book has a unique digital print produced on HP Indigo presses and employs the company’s patented technology like Mosaic technology to create various effects

This pack of Navtal Nxt locks from Godrej was created draw the attention of the customer at the retail counter. The package made of polypropylene (PP) was designed with an aim to provide product visibility and connect with customers. After a number of tests and deliberations, the neat and precise tray which could fit all elements with ease, was created by Ajanta Print Arts. The initial plan was to launch 20,000 packages, but the requirement doubled within a week of the launch. The success of this packaging is reflected in the sales numbers!

For everyone Holi means colours, sweets, drinks and fun. The Jashn-e-gulal pack from Canon had something for everyone to celebrate Holi in style. The rigid box pack came packed with goodies such as chocolates, an organic gulal, a pack of thandai, t-shirt and a music CD with the latest bollywood chart busters. Jealous?

Until its demise 1980s, ‘Penrose’ documented a fascinating trail of printing and design developments. Penrose Annuals remain the quintessential record on the development of mass media, advertising, photography, design and typography throughout the 20th century; from the earliest incursions by radio, through to television and, in the later volumes, references to electronic transmission of information that has given us the internet. This Penrose Annual 1975, volume 68 book has been published by Northwood Publications, and most part of the book is printed on Clan Invercarron matt art 135gsm paper

This Make In India magazine from Conde Nast’s stable epitomises the perfect combination of design and print. The just right use of rainbow foiling coupled with intricate die-cutting on the matt jacket is a testimony to Manipal’s print expertise and PM Modi’s Make In India campaign. The perfect-bound 216-pager magazine features entrepreneurial journies of India’s most dynamic businessmen

The 175-page coffee table book printed on imported archival paper traces the journey of the iconic Lalbaugcha Raja Ganapati Mandal since its inception, 84 years ago. The perfectly bound book printed at Mumbai-based press Superlekha came packed in a e-fluted case with gloves to prevent spoilage of the pages. The hardcase book has a a carefully designed book jacket made of handmade paper and gold foiling which gives it a premium look

Who does not like chilled beer? Now, one can identify whether the beer is chilled looking at the cans with the help of the ink used to print the cans. The key feature is the design of mountains covered in snow, which is printed by thermochromic ink. When the beer in the can is chilled, only then the snow on the mountain appears. The thermochromic ink effect on cans, printed at Canpac is probably one of the first such features to be used in Indian market

The seventh edition of the calendar has been printed on Glode 250gsm paper, which is a premium rough gloss coated fine paper range. The calendar consists of a rare collection of photographs of important personalities across the world and their quotes. Unlike a regular calendar, the Galgo calendar can be used as a photo frame and can be placed on the desk. This collector’s item has been printed at Pragati Offset, Hyderabad

While rummaging through our archives, we got hold of the positives of one of the forms of the July, 2006 edition of Autocar Professional magazine. Sanjeev Govekar, production manager at Haymarket Media, says, “the good old days when positives were used to produce prints”. He recollects the tedious process of plate-making with positives and preventing the dot loss, to create quality prints

In general, bulbs are usually packed in closed cartons, in which one cannot see the product inside. Ecobliss developed the clamshell packs which provides complete product view and can stand on the shelf. The blister design and the construction of the pack provides enough strength to protect the product i.e. bulbs in transit and storage across the whole supply chain

The pack has been designed and developed by Mumbai-based Equity Packaging. It has been designed as a retail ready transport packaging in the form of unitised retail ready display for Tasty Bite’s ready to eat six pouch packs. The eco-friendly pack is self-sustaining during transport. It eliminates the need for a pallet and shipper, which results in cost saving

The Glendale green tea carton printed at Hyderabad-based Pragati Pack features print on a folding box board. This has been laminated with metallised PET. CMYK and opaque white inks have been deployed to print the carton. To give a premium look, the carton has texture, gloss and matt UV varnish. The structure of the carton is unique due to the Glendale flap, which comes over the carton. Pragati Pack had bagged the PrintWeek Award 2015 for the Packaging Converter of the Year category

The conventional packing of dosa batter has always been the age-old pillow pouches. The result was spillage plus it required the batter to be transferred in a different container before use. Keeping in mind the prerequisites of the housewifem the team at Huthamaki PPL designed a pouch which can be used to directly to dispense the batter and be reclosed for use, later on

Chocolates are made in all hues but rarely does the box reflect it. When have you seen a round or a square box? How many Kit Kat or Godiva type packaging has one encountered. But this one brand - LuvIt - has marched forward and backward (into nostalgia – and integration) at the same time. The items of confectionery come in a toffee shaped box and the two ends open with a twist - as simply as you would unwrap the humble toffee. Just the way it should have always been with the chocolate boxes ... This is a brilliant example of a superb use of die-cut complemented by folding and pasting. The only downside: You can keep a tab at how many toffees have gobbled up from the see-through window patch! All for a sweet tooth!

The Mayajaal-Face poster printed by Mumbai-based Taco Vision is one beautiful piece of art which is laced with a flip and a 3D effect. The 889X889mm sized poster is printed on a 20lpi lenticular material base. The artistic poster was created in Maya Software, while the compositing and rendering were done in After Effects software from Adobe. The rendered views were later interlaced in Taco’s Pictoreal Software, to achieve the desired effect. The poster held the second position in the Lenstar Lenticular Print Award 2016 Drupa. Making India Proud!

This award winning carton comes with three detachable parts to form the carton. The top and bottom of the pack contain spot UV providing line patterns and gold-foil stamping on the brand name. The package design has received accolades from across the world including the the title “Monocarton Packaging Excellence” of the year award at Bordeaux, Belgium

The newly launched MultiLoft sheets bring a new level of product diversity and enable the sheets to be digitally printed on up to 1300gsm. The sheets can be termed as sandwich paper for digital print applications. Here, after printing in a standard digital press, the front, and back sheets are assembled back to back. The sheets are lined with a special layer of glue, which gets activated when a certain amount of pressure is applied. The pressure from the trimming clamp seals the sheets together into an impressive, elegant card. After assembly, the sheets can also be die-cut into specialty shaped cards. MultiLoft is represented by Srinivas Papers in India

The mask-themed calendar from Pragati Offset arrived at the PrintWeek India office. As always, the Pragati Calendar, a visual feast. The calendar has a collection of unique masks from across the world. The sheets are rendered with cutting-edge printing techniques, with intricate die-cuts and beautiful 3D embossing. The 3D embossing blocks are from UK-based Tomlinson. Each sheet has a rich tapestry of the mask images, and the precision of the print makes the mask jump out of the printed sheet