The Wonder of Colour 26/2/09 14.10pm

We take for granted the colours around us. They can be rich or insipid, vibrant or dull. Recently, during a well earned soak in the tub, I looked at the array of colour foams and washes cluttering the bathroom shelf. The greens and blues to ease away the strains of the day and the reds and yellows to invigourate and refresh. I chose a yellow. This would do just the job and looking at the label I admired the extracts that would assist my choice..."extract of Red Dragon Fruit, and Brazilian Hot Mud" I wasn't too sure having secreted some of the contents onto my hand how my crevices may react to an onslaught of exotic jollop but, as game as ever, I duly foamed my tired form.

Feeling refreshed from the exotic extracts, I then wondered why in the print industry we suffer with mere numbers for colours. Perhaps we should reinvent the pantone guide with the same level of input as soap manufacturers or paint suppliers. Only much more flamboyantly. I suggest a challenge to come up with some new names. First we'll have the real name of the colour and then your prefered choice. My colour to begin with:

Pantone 116c

...not very descriptive but replace the number with 'egg yolk yellow' and you can see the colour.

Noxious gatherings 9/2/09 8.49am

All the colours of a pantone book, that's the only way that I could possibly begin to describe my daughter's birthday sleep over and make up party. The scent of cheap perfume and hair products together with nail polish lay heavy in the air, the house a nauseating mix of highly combustible sweet aromas and noxious gases. The swapping of earrings, shrill giggles and heated debates on why he is " so dumped" continue in to the early hours. Contrast this with my son's gathering of the clan - four mates, five, six feet something, lumbering giants that eat anything remotely edible and play a computer game throughout the night. Their deep chortles rumbling through the walls, they finally drift off to sleep in the clothing they arrived in,  the room come morning permeating another collection of combustible noxious gases, this time definitely not so sweet, and not a place you would wish to venture without suitably protective clothing...but fun was had by all!

The wonders of youth, a dizzy gathering of eat drink and be merry...Let's all, in what seems to be turbulent times, not forget to eat, drink and be merry!

Ants, 5/01/08 11.05AM

Have you ever lifted a pavement slab to be greeted by thousands of frantic ants, rushing around carrying pods of offspring deeper into the maze of tunnels they have industriously engineered?

I have, its all very ordered and very busy where every ant knows exactly what they have to do to get to that last pod and take it away. I saw this again recently, it was on a much larger scale, though it had exactly the same level of desire, this time the pod was a colourful box with a sticker proclaiming everything must go.

I smiled ruefully at the heaving mass having spent less, queued for ages and didn't really know if what they had, was what they really needed, no-one looked overjoyed and gleeful, just focussed and laden, RIP Woolworths.

"its only a bargain if you are buying what you need, other than that its just stuff, you haven't saved any money you just have spent fifty percent on something you didn't need, which isn't a saving at all"!

A leap of faith 17/06/08 9.23AM

Should print be produced in house? How many of us have sat in an eatery and looked hungrily at the menu, it’s been a busy day, sales are down and you need some subsistence to fuel the challenge.

Ask yourself the question, does the menu you are looking at inspire you to order something different or stick to what you know? Likelihood is - if it’s a greasy spoon with laminated menus promoting the all day breakfast, you will stick to what you know. No encouragement to change to something new...

Move the same ingredients to a good eatery, proclaiming sweet fresh tomatoes, griddled bacon and free range eggs, topped with a cup of English Tea, and you are already thinking this sounds nice, it looks nice on this well presented menu, and I don’t mind paying a few more pounds, why, because the perception of value is greater.

Now ask yourself the same question, do your prospective clients feel enthused to pickup the phone or email when presented with low quality in house printed matter, of course they don’t, they will stick with who they know, though introduce them to yourself with a high quality set of marketing materials and they may be inclined to take that leap of faith and give you a try.

The first bite is always with the eyes, never let your company’s profile be cheapened by poor design and poor quality print, it may cost a little more, but your standing in the market place will be greater. And in these seemingly turbulent times, we all need to stand out from the crowd.

Money saving, recycling and quality 06/06/08 11.45AM

They do not always work well in the same sentence, recycled stock can be variable in quality, after all you can only recycle what your given to recycle with! Money saving yes there are a number of print companies that will save you money, many of which will gang your job up with umpteen others, fine if you don’t have a brand image or colour specific requirement. How then do you capture all of these, by putting your job on the press that suits the requirement. We don’t use a sledge hammer to crack a walnut, lets not use the wrong printing press for the wrong size job.  That’s where print management comes into its own. Experience contacts and the ability to protect your pocket, whilst maintaining quality. Recycling comes into the arena not just by using the recycled stock but by good use of paper and the right press to put it on, saving time and energy.

Summerblime 15/05/08 03.25pm

 News from the home front....We started a vegetable plot and with the current run of favourable weather, I have estimated my family will be self sufficient in six weeks!  If anybody has a book of recipes covering 101 uses of lettuce it will be much appreciated.

What a wonderful few weeks of warm sunny rays, I hope this summer will bring plenty of warm barmy evenings to you all. I for one love the smell of a summers morning with all the promise of watching busy bee’s and swaying crops, caressed by a soft summer breeze.....sublime.

The irony of recycling... 14/04/08 09.15AM

Upon my travels, I spied whilst driving, four builders smoking in their car, closing their windows as they enter the Blackwall Tunnel....I was intrigued to see the car fill with smoke and presumably the four occupants recycle the contents of their lungs.

I was warmed to see that the recycle campaign is creeping into all walks of life and I kind of understood the idea of saving themselves from the noxious fumes of Blackwall tunnel ... upon exiting their windows opened and a large billow of smoke expelled into the wider world...alas no change there!

I wonder how much energy is expelled in the collection of the raw materials, the production of cigarettes , distribution and combustion of the finished article, and the subsequent collection of tons of butts from the curb side.

If ever there was a product that signifies the utter waste of materials and environment then I think cigarettes are pretty close to the top... in my book.

I am off to question something else now...I would bemoan the weight of traffic, but I am normally in it and therefore a percentage of the problem so that seems silly. How often do we hear “sorry I am late the traffic has been a nightmare”

Raindrops 06/03/08 07.59AM

The weekend was fast upon us, and I was reminded of a childhood game I used to play, which my daughter called racing raindrops, she was stood at the kitchen door watching two rain drops run down the window and was secretly wishing one to be ‘champ’ as they joined others in the race to the finishing line, namely the bottom of the seal.
 
What simple pleasure I thought, I challenged her to a race and we tapped at the window to encourage our champion. I thought of giving mine a helping hand by reaching for the hose, but it was over too quick time had come to accept defeat, my rain drop veering under pressure and heading across the window rather than down.
 
Most enjoyable, nothing to do with print I hear you say, well perhaps not, but I think we all have had jobs that no matter how you want to force them to the finishing line they just seem to go sideways

Wildebeest 23/01/08 10.33 AM
 
So here we are, two weeks into the New years Campaign, and wallop, we have all had our enthusiasms dampened by glum forecasts, and like wildebeests we all move long the Serengeti super highway hoping that we can reach the green grass over yonder horizon.
 
Well it may be tough and the grass may be parched and dry, but with determination and attention to detail, a downturn in the market doesn’t have to mean less money, it just means that we have to route out the succulent tufts hidden away from view.
 
I for one will be looking at the wealth of opportunity knowing that my competitors may be lame and fearful.
 
I would assume that all our markets have whimps and winners. It’s down to the herd you’re with whether you reach the green grass over yonder, that choice is yours!

David

Consumed 17/01/08 12.38 AM
 
Well the Christmas extravaganza has been laid to rest for another 9 months, the holiday magazines are already being thumbed, and our back to work enthusiasm for the New Years campaign is upon us.
 
I asked myself the question why do we have this New Year deadline? The fresh start, a new beginning, as I see it today morning, is as fresh a day as the 1st of January, but the majority of us have this time line of old year, new year.
 
For those of you reading who know me, my New Year improvement programme is to get out on the bike some more lose some Christmas pudding gained over many Christmases, and slide effortlessly into those button up 501s. Or at least slide into them and struggle with three of the buttons, I wouldn’t want to rush things.
 
There already a chink in my fresh new start, acceptance of a three button struggle which will transpire to me accepting they won’t do up. Thus applying my creative mind into looping a shoe lace through the hole and around the each button like a man corset, which may seem like very good idea, until nature calls and I am left struggling with yards of lace at a urinal.
 
 I say lets all have a good New Year, what ever you resolutions are make each day yours.
 
In other news I am off to forage at a few trade shows during the coming months so I hope to bring you a fine selection of new printing options and other gimmicks that may entice a purchase order from you or your clients.
 
Feel free to answer or comment on the Blog, its will hopefully develop into a worthwhile journal during the coming year if only to add some fun to the weekly deadlines we all need to hit.
 
David