Since January, We’ve Planted More Than 12000 Trees

We were excited about Earth Day and to celebrate here at Jakprints, we’ve officially unveiled our tree planting campaign. Since January, we’ve pledged to plant a tree for every order processed. That’s right, every order placed for apparel, stickers, full color printing and large format printing will have a tree planted. Be sure to check out our redesigned Green Printing site, we’re pretty proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.

This is just the next step in our attempt to leave the planet better than we found it. We’ve always been mindful of the planet. Being green isn’t just a marketing angle for us, it’s an integral ingredient of the Jakprints culture.

Even in everyday life at our 130,000 square foot facility, environmental responsibility is practiced everywhere. In addition to vegetable-based offset inks and responsibly forested paper, all excess paper is recycled, there are compost bins in the kitchen and many of our staff ride their bikes to work. Since 2007, we’ve saved more than 29,000 trees; 5,700 cubic yards of landfill space; 11.9 milliongallons of water; 7.1 million kilowatt hours of electricity; 621,000 gallons of fuel; and 102,000 pounds of pollution.

While these stats may seem impressive to the casual observer, the staff here at Jakprints is constantly researching new ways to fuel our passion for being environmental stewards.

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

Create Yours Now!™

The Animal Builder

Kate Schruth and Jakprints build The Animal Builder.

Jeff Finley

Artist, designer and partner at Go Media. Author of Thread’s Not Dead and founder of WMC Fest.

Favorite Font(s): Knockout, DIN, ITC Serif Gothic, Bodoni, Meta Serif, Liberator

Favorite Typography Trends:  Hand-lettered, Americana motifs are tickling my fancy these days, like Jon Contino and Dan Cassaro. Scripty stuff, like, Dana Tanamachi’s chalk lettering is fantastic. These styles don’t need to be hand-lettered, but it provides an earthy, humanistic touch when they are. I’m also a huge fan of Niel Kellerhouse’s hand-lettered scrawl on his House of the Devil film posters. Although, the font he created for the new Dragon Tattoo series is amazing. AJ Dimarucot has really come a long way over the years with his aggressive, hand-lettered, modern calligraphy.

jefffinley.org / gomedia.us / WMCfest.com / twitter.com/jeff_finley 

OKPants

Does: Art direction, illustration and graphic design.
Does not: Take anything else seriously.
Wants: To get better. 

Favorite Font(s): Very easily HTF Knockout: Versatile, clean, not stupid looking. It’s the sriracha of fonts, you can use it on pretty much anything to add bold, off-the-hook flavors — what’s up Karl Welzein. It has no less than 786,564 weights and styles; yet, they are all obviously part of the same awesome font family. Knockout 34 Junior Sumo gets it done. Some other go-to’s of mine: Interstate, Trade Gothic, Ziggurat, Didot, Refrigerator Deluxe — there’s a lot more, but this is what gets used daily.

Favorite Typography Trends: Reid Miles. Aaron Draplin is the closest thing typography has to its very own Paul Bunyan. The Chicago Bears identity and type.  I’m interested in learning more about any movement notrooted in an attempt to produce disposable garbage. Crap trends that are a facepalm to the crap trends before them can take a hike. I get down on my knees and thank God for digital layout programs, but I admire the people that had to make this stuff happen before such things existed… I don’t think that answers the question at all, but that’s what’s on my mind.

okpants.com / twitter.com/okpants / dribbble.com/okpants / blog.okpants.com

Brian Jasinski

Artist and designer behind Grey Cardigan

Favorite fonts: Belizio, Pistilli, Rockwell, Sophia and of course, the tried and true workhorse that is Trade Gothic.

Favorite Typography Trend: I do like seeing a growing resurgence of illustration and original/hand-drawn type being used in design. Clean bold graphics with striking type, often seen in poster design, is a refreshing change after years of the overly-layered, photoshopped and crowded “Raygun” style of the late 90s/early 2000s. Very clean Swiss design has always been an influence on my own work – the use of very intentional shapes, white space, and conscious intersections.

greycardigan.net / twitter.com/grey_cardigan

Ted Barnes

Art Director right here at Jakprints

Favorite Font(s): HF&J Knockout — no other font looks better super condensed or extended, Stretch-Armstrong style. My current font crush is the serified version of Gotham that HF&J did for the Obama 2012 campaign, please sell it to me!

Favorite Typography Trends: Not so much a trend as the way that technology has finally caught up with typography. With the current breed of well-done, Open Type fonts, it’s no longer obvious what’s hand-lettered and what’s a well-chosen font. The fact that it’s allowing production designers — who don’t have the luxury of time when designing — are finally able to crank out carefully typeset work is phenomenal. I see almost everything that comes through the shop, and I feel like I’m seeing more stellar design work than ever before.

Take a look at some great design examples straight out of the portfolios of Jeff Finley, OKPants and Grey Cardigan.

Tell us about your favorite font or design trend in the comments section!

“You would never think an absolute, right-brained graphic designer to discover their career led them into the world of accounting,” exclaims Vital Visual owner Dede Vitrano. “Yet, some how, it’s the perfect match.” BBP Partners is, an up-and-coming public accounting and consulting firm with offices in Cleveland, OH, and Washington, D.C.

Vitrano met with Chris Brauser, an original partner at BBP,  to change the way the firm markets and associates with the industry and their clients. BBP was unhappy with the results of traditional marketing, the duo of Vitrano and Brauser developed a new strategy with a strong focus on personalized, mailers with lots of personality. ”It’s a new partnership that has already shaken things up and created a wave with their clients,” says Vitrano.

• Petal Envelopes

• Stock:16 pt. Soft Touch
• Finish Size:6.25 x 6.25
• Inks:4/4
• Sides:2
• Extra: Sealed with a 1.5″ Circle Silver Foil Sticker

• Scratch-Off Cards

• Stock:12 pt. Gloss
• Finish Size:3.5 x 2
• Inks:4/4 + Scratch Off Foil
• Sides: 2

• Custom Favicards

• Stock: 16 pt. Soft Touch
• Finish Size: 2 x 2
• Inks: 4/4
• Sides: 2

Graffiti Gone Global (GGG) is the brainchild of SUSHISAMBA founder Shimon Bokovza, and creates a unified platform that celebrates the ethos of urban culture. GGG produced another stunning book to showcase their event – featuring the designs of Marc Fornes, Volkan Alkanoglu, Billi Kid and other prominent street and graffiti artists.

• 

  Product: Perfect Bound Book (60 Pages – including the cover)

  Stocks: 16 pt. Soft Touch Cardstock (Cover Pages) + 100# Gloss Text (Interior Pages)

  Finished Size: 11 x 11 inches

  Inks: Full Color

  Finishing: Perfect Bindery 

  
• 

  To highlight their exclusive VIP preview exhibit they created custom invitations with Custom Gold Foil Stamping.

  Product: Custom Invitation

  Stock: 24 pt. C1S Cardstock + Soft Touch Coating

  Finished Size: 7 x 7 inches

  Inks: Full Color

  Finishing: Custom Gold Foil Stamping on both sides

  

Primary Flight is the world’s largest street-level mural installation and features more than 250 world-class artists from around the globe. This year, they created a stunning lookbook and an artist bio catalog. By combining the magazines with their custom-printed Favicards, they created a sleek and stylish ensemble.

• 
• 

  Product: Bio Catalogs (44 Pages – including the cover)

  Stocks: 12 pt. Gloss Cardstock + Strike Through Matte Varnish (Cover Pages) + 100# Gloss Text + Overall Matte Aqueous Coating (Interior Pages)

  Finished Size: 10 x 10 inches

  Inks: Full Color

  Finishing: Two-Staple Saddle Stitched

  

The Underbelly Project taking one and half years to complete, is an elusive cache of art that has become a pirate treasure of the contemporary art world, buried underneath New York City in an unused and unfinished subway station. With over 100 participating artists sworn to secrecy and the entrance removed darkness has reclaimed the space. The only physical artifact to the project is the documentation that was taken during the project and The Underbelly Show presents a sampling of the artists.

Utilizing an array of items to help promote the show they made Full Color Vinyl Stickers in multiple sets, Posters, Postcards and Custom Printed T-Shirts.

• 

  Product: Full Color Vinyl Stickers (9 sets)

  Stock: Glossy Vinyl + Gloss UV Coating

  Finished Size: 4.25 x 3.627 inches

  Inks: 4/1 (Full Color – front, Black Ink - liner)

  Finishing: (9) custom art versions at 125 pieces each

  
• 

  Product: Posters

  Stock: 100# Gloss Text

  Finished Size: 18 x 24 inches

  Inks: 5/0 (Full Color + Spot Metallic Silver 877C - 1 side)

  
• 

  Product: Show Catalogs (16 Pages - including the cover)

  Stocks: 100# Gloss Text

  Finished Size: 4.5 x 5.75 inches

  Inks: 5/5 – Full Color + Spot Metallic Silver 877C

  Finishing: Two-Staple Saddle Stitched

  
• 
  All of the shirts were printed with a full color process on the front and one color printing on the back. Which is your favorite?

A shout out to our friends at Infamous Magazine – keep your eyes peeled for their red “HELLO My Name Is” stickers. They will be passing the stickers out during Art Basel and at their Got Rep? Miami art show, featuring artist from Infamous Magazine.

Every year Art Basel continues to amaze us. The amount of talented artists in one place is mind blowing. We know we will have a blast down there. If you’re a local or making the trip down, don’t forget to say hi, we’d love to meet you!

What Is Foil Stamping?

Foil stamping combines an etched die stamp, paper, foil and heat.  Foil is pressed between the heated die and paper, the heat releases the colored layer of the foil and binds it to the paper creating a finished custom shape. There is a slight indent from the stamping process, but the final piece is still relatively flat. Embossing can be included, which indents the paper to create a 3-D shape. Foil stamping can also be referred to as hot stamping, blocking, flat stamping, dry stamping, leafing or gold leaf.  Foils range in multiple color and pattern options from a shiny metallic, to a holographic pattern, opaque or matte color, pearlescent or even a clear foil!

 The Process

• Artwork Submission: Send us your design for foil stamping and print.
• Custom Die Creation: Once we receive your artwork – detailing the areas that you would like foil stamped – we create a custom die to match that shape. This will be the area that receives the foil color of your choice.
• Print Set Up: We prep your order, taking into consideration the special requirements for the foil stamping machines, such as the guide and gripper for the paper to feed into the foil stamping press.
• Card Printing: The postcard is printed with our standard offset, full color process and trimmed to size, including the gripper.
• Foil Stamping: The printed sheet is fed into the foil stamping machine where the foil is adhered to the paper.
• Final Trim: Your stamped card is then trimmed down to your finished size and shipped out!

Foil stamping has evolved through history to become the stamping process that we know today but can you imagine adding gold foil to your designated areas by hand, like they did in the Middle Ages? Did you know that the manufactured process for synthetic “gold leaf” or foil stamping began in the late nineteenth century in Germany? Luckily for us the process has become easier and more cost effective for our modern age and we look forward to the future evolution of foil stamping making it even more affordable and easier to produce.

 

• Die Stamping An intaglio process for printing where lettering, and other designs, are engraved into copper or steel plates.
• Embossing Impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface. Ink can be printed on top of the embossed area (a registered emboss) or the embossed area can be blank (a blind emboss). Emboss refers to the raised image surface. The opposite, a deboss, refers to an image lowered into the surface.
• Gripper Edge The leading edge of paper as it passes through a printed press.
• Guide The guide for the machine needs a true straight edge to insure registration between the foil and printing.

This month’s Juxtapoz Magazine – the celebrated, underground, urban and contemporary art mag — has an awesome 10-page feature on artist/illustrator Dan Seagrave. Best known for his seminal Death Metal album covers for bands, like, Entombed, Malevolent, Creation, Morbid Angel and Suffocation, Seagrave has transcended Metal stereotypes to create an impressive body of dreamy, macabre works. You can purchase his amazing prints on his Indiemerchstore page.

We recently printed a series of 18×24″ posters for Seagrave on 100# Gloss Text. Offset lithography is ideal for printing gorgeous, full-color prints at quantities and price-points that work for every stage of your career.

Thinking of printing your own posters? Choosing the right paper stock for your project can get confusing, even for seasoned pros. Here’s some quick tips:

Paper Stocks

Text-weight stocks are the most common. They are light-weight, cost-effective and easy to hang. If you’re unfamiliar with “paper brightness,” check out this great article from our buds at Creative Pro. 

All of our Glossy products are coated with an aqueous coating. This durable, water-based coating keeps our gloss papers looking awesome while ensuring that our full color products are 100% biodegradable. 

• 100# Gloss Text This stock is what most people think of when you say, “poster.” A glossy stock with 30% PCW from Responsibly Forested Paper, 92-brightness and acid-free, your colors will pop with our aqueous coating and high shine.
• 100# Uncoated Text Looking for a natural, raw feel? This is your stock. Uncoated paper with 30% PCW from Responsibly Forested Paper, 96-brightness and acid-free. Great for writability. Without the gloss coating, these stocks have a soft appearance and a slightly-muted color range.
• 60# Uncoated Text Great for a super-affordable, natural-looking poster — this stock is normally used for letterhead printing. A thin, lightweight stock with 30% PCW from Responsibly Forested Paper, 96-brightness and acid free.

Card stocks have a luxurious feel when printed as posters, perfect to be framed and cherished as an artist/collector’s print. These thick papers are also great if you’ve been looking for a silk-screened poster aesthetic without the cost and limitations of silk-screening. 

• 13 pt. Uncoated Card Stock Want to be super eco-friendly? Our 100% recycled stock is perfect when paired with our standard soy- and vegetable-based inks. Be advised that this stock is flecked throughout — which is typical of 100% recycled papers. It has an 88-brightness and is acid free.
•  12 pt. Uncoated Card Stock The same great look of Uncoated Text-Weight (above) with the heavier card stock, for an amazing collector’s piece. 30% PCW from Responsibly Forested Paper, 93-brightness and acid free.
•  12 pt. Gloss Card Stock A vibrant, glossy print on a heavy card stock. 10% PCW from Responsibly Forested Paper, 94-brightness and acid free.
•  16 pt. Gloss Card Stock Wow that’s thick! A nice, sturdy option with a glossy, aqueous coating for a truly high-end collectors piece, with 94-brightness and acid free.

The solution was setting up a series of iPad kiosks to help guide visitors through the show. But first guests must choose which avatar to explore and take a tag with the coordinating image on it, that’s where we came into play.

Jeremiah Boncha a graphic designer at the museum and long time Jakprints customer suggested they use Favicards to print the avatar images on. After the pieces were printed, cut and rounded corners were added we placed a 3/16″ drill hole in the top left corner and attached an elastic band. Allowing visitors to place their specific card around their wrist as they explored the avatar they chose.

These excellent avatars were illustrated by Sanjay Patel you can find more of his stunning work here: http://www.gheehappy.com

These bins contain all the different avatars to choose from. Visitors are encouraged to explore as many as they would like. This fascinating exhibit is currently open and runs through October 2nd at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in Brooklyn, NY. For more information you can check out http://www.brooklynmuseum.org

Shelf Life Clothing Co., based right here in good old Cleveland, Ohio, is the brain child of designer Brian Kirby. His shirt designs are inspired by a wide range of pop-culture imagery as well as classic Japanese, Hong Kong and Bollywood cinema, 1960s spy movies, vintage rock album artwork, WWII aviation art, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurotrash cinema and professional sports. Shelf Life Clothing Co. makes a point to pay tribute to often forgotten B-movie classics while also lampooning common place ideas. Shelf Life’s shirts have been seen on many media outlets such as ESPN, CNN/Sports Illustrated.com, E! Network’s series “Married To Rock“, Season 8 of “American Idol” as well as on the backs of Hong Kong movie producer Mike Leeder, action choreographer John Kreng, and producer Bey Logan.

Here’s a few words from Brian Kirby about why he chose Jakprints to produce his apparel:

I started using Jakprints six or seven years ago for business cards and tri-fold brochures, and when one of my websites became an Internet hit, I started experimenting with different tee designs to sell through the site. I’ve tried other printing companies and silkscreening on my own, but the quality of the silkscreened images from Jakprints is the best I’ve found, and allows me to be more creative by using finer halftone images and other design elements that I couldn’t achieve elsewhere. Working with everyone there has been great; they’ve helped me not only with printing, but also with finding the right quality and color tees that give my brand and designs a signature look and feel. I’m lucky to have Jakprints nearby in Cleveland, and I absolutely love how resourceful their whole operation is–they even shred unused remnant tees to make dog beds to donate to animal shelters. I’m happy with the end result for my brand and thankful for the creative freedom that all of Jakprints’ printing options provide.
These are examples of the apparel Jakprints has had the pleasure of printing for Shelf Life Clothing Co. that display a wide range of Jakprints’ printing techniques. Everything from natural discharge to soft vibrant, center chest and full front graphic placement, two color prints to many color prints, Shelf Life has it all. Also, all of Shelf Life’s designs are ran on 100 percent ring-spun soft cotton or organic cotton shirts.

We truly feel these are some of the coolest designs we’ve ever produced.

Recently Shelf Life Clothing has experimented with All Over Shirt Printing and returned excellent results. Brian’s design style and use of vibrant colors mixes perfectly with the process of printing these shirts.

All of the shirts shown here can be purchased at http://shelflifeclothing.com

Recently, Jakprints had the pleasure of printing apparel for Xyience and the UFC fighter Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy. For those of you don’t know Dan Hardy, he’s an English-born fighter who started training in Taekwondo at the age of six. He’s trained in China with the Shaolin monks, and, after realizing the importance of grappling skills in MMA, cross trained in many other styles of martial arts. Dan has held the Cage Warriors Welterweight World Title, and he is the current Light-Welterweight Champion and the UK Storm British Champion.

Dan’s shirt was printed on a Men’s Alstyle Adult Short Sleeve T-Shirt. The front has a full chest graphic placement with plastisol ink.

The Xyience logo on the back has an upper back graphic placement, also printed with plastisol ink.

Dan will be competing this Saturday, March 26th, in UFC Fight Night 24 at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. His opponent is American-born fighter Anthony Johnson whose record is currently eight wins, three losses. We at Jakprints wish him the best in this weekend’s bout and look forward to doing more work for Dan and the Xyience team!