Graphic Design Round Table – Typography

One of our favorite posts of the month featured a handful of very talented and accomplished graphic designers sharing their two cents about the current state of typography. Click here to read what Jeff Finley, OKPants, Brian Jasinski and Ted Barnes had to say.

Lake Erie Monster – Horror Comic

We started the month off with a feature about John G and Jake Kelley’s new Cleveland based horror comic The Lake Erie Monster. We were there for their release party at Blue Arrow Records. Check out the video we put together highlighting the creation and release of The Lake Erie Monster and see the original blog post with pics from the event here.

Rock Hall Fever

With all the deserved hype and coverage surrounding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony earlier this month, we got in on the action and put a slightly different spin on the festivities in Cleveland. Read our Ten Bizarre Things About Rock Hall Induction Week In Cleveland.

We Announced Our Newest Green Initiative

Being environmentally responsible is something we’re quite proud of. To us, being green isn’t just a marketing angle, we’re always looking for new ways to improve our eco-friendly practices. That’s why on Earth Day we announced that we plant a tree for every order placed! Read all the details here - Jakprints Plants One Tree With Every Order.

Building the Animal Builder

Read this cool story about how Jakprints helped author Kate Schrute bring her ideas to life.  The Animal Builder is a colorful, inquisitive book about a giant anteater who creates animals out of things he finds in nature.

Concert and Movie Posters

Two posts this month featured some inspirational designs in both the music and film world. We put together a gallery of minimalist movie posters including Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Check out the original post Design Spotlight – Minimalist Movie Posters. We also found a great collection of concert poster art at the GoMedia blog. View our highlights  - Concert Posters – Text, Fonts and Rock & Roll.

Jakprints at The Green Dream

Jakprints returned to The Green Dream again this year. The Green Dream is Ohio’s largest eco-friendly expo and it’s put on by teens at Beachwood High School! Check it out. 

Jakprints Spotlight – Emma White

And last but certainly not least, we learned a little more about Emma White in Customer Service & Sales for this month’s Jakprints Employee Spotlight.

Well that’s it for this month. Keep checking back for new content, and if there’s anything you’d like to see featured or talked about, please let us know!

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!™

Name:

Position: I’m the Sales Manager. Since we don’t have an official outside sales staff I’m actually the first guy to delve into that role as well.

Years at Jakprints: 8

Favorites.

Color: Black, dark grey, sometimes white and red.

Food:  Anything fresh. I’m not a very picky eater but I prefer the good stuff whenever possible.

Movie: For some reason I’m partial to movies that are shot or set outside of the United States, like The Lives of Others. I also enjoy horror movies in the theater.  Insidious was a blast. I also saw Tron Legacy in 3D twice in the theater. I regret not seeing it a third time. My favorite skate video is a film by Pontus Alv called The Strongest of the Strange, which happens to be the title of a poem by Charles Bukowski. The soundtrack is really great.

Neutral Milk Hotel

Band/Musician: Man, I listen to so much different stuff it’s hard to say. Lately I keep coming back to stuff like Neutral Milk Hotel, Howlin Wolf, Wooden Shjips, Frank Fairfield, Smog, and Carsick Cars. I always enjoy High On Fire live too.

Book/Author: I usually am reading motorcycle repair manuals or motorcycle and skate magazines; but for real authors I like the works of Twain, Bukowski, Vonnegut and Hemmingway. I get into other random stuff like this book on Shape Shifters that a coworker lent me. Currently I’m in the middle of reading a book by Yvon Chouinard, the founder and owner of Patagonia. It’s a pretty good read and he seems like an interesting guy so far.

What do you like to do in your free time?  I have more interests in life than I dare to entertain. I attempt to keep it limited to skateboarding, riding motorcycles fast, shooting film photography, and spending time with my wonderful girlfriend. I run a website (www.savemefromordinary.com) that’s a pretty leisurely skate blog. I’ve also recently gotten into hand-guns which has been fun.

What would you do if you had a million dollars?  I would give away a large portion of the money to those in need, pay off my car, buy some land, and invest whatever is left over.

Why do you choose to work at Jakprints?  I’ve learned that many things are possible through skateboarding, like traveling to interesting places, building life-long friendships, meeting great people, and having amazing experiences. I also found that you can build business relationships and create real opportunities for yourself through skating. I began working at Jakprints because my friend Mike, who I skated with, worked here and he would take me skating with Jeff Weisenberg. After I caught wind of what these guys were up to at Jakprints I essentially quit my job and hung around until they started letting me wash screens. Fast forward eight years and I have learned an immeasurable number of lessons about business, character, and life. Besides everything I’ve gained by being a part of this organization, I choose to continue working at Jakprints because I believe that there is a large amount of opportunity at this organization for everyone.

What are some interesting projects you’ve been a part of?  I’m always open to trying to sort out weird projects for clients, and I usually get bit by that when I find myself being the only person at the shop foolish enough to open these certain cans of worms. One project stands out distinctly in my mind though. Last year I happened to be watching the front desk to give someone a lunch break and this woman walks in holding a blouse with an eye-popping red, black, and white pattern. She sat down and proceeded to tell me that she wants to make inserts for her cupboard doors with the pattern of the blouse on them. The simple answer is we don’t really have have an obvious product/capability combination to fit that need… but that’s too easy.

After I thought about it for a bit I was able to work through some possbile options and she seemed game to wonder down the rabbit hole with me. The final solution was to photograph the blouse to get the pattern, reverse-print some clear sticker stock which we then reverse-mounted to plexiglass panels that mounted into the cupboard doors. It all turned out really well and she actually backlit them when she got it back to her house and it looked great. That was a weird but fun project that I don’t know will ever happen again.

What are your favorite aspects of what you do at Jakprints? Every email, phone call, or client that stops in is different. I love taking a very wide range of print products and working through all the options to best fit the varying needs of an extremely wide range of clients. Plus, being able to see the evolution of the company to the point it’s at now is very inspiring. The current crew we have is completely unstoppable, and seeing the energies from Jacob and Dameon trickle down through the entire company is something that cannot be easily defined. It’s like a living organism. I’m eight years in and I am very much looking forward to seeing where this team takes us in the next eight years and beyond.

“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

Since starting as a Boxer in Full Color Finishing four years ago, Nick LaRich has been moving and shaking his way through the JP ranks. Currently, LaRich ensures your custom, full color orders look great and are on schedule as our Job Controller. He’s a flurry of energy, often seen running from department to department, iPad in hand; his upbeat, vociferous personality and positive attitude have won him accolades from fellow JPers.

Favorites

Color: Blue

Food: Steak

Movie: Goodfellas or Casino

Band/Musician: Jay Z / early Eminem / Lil Wayne

Book/Author: I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

What do you like to do in your free time? Watch/play sports, watch movies, hangout with friends.

What would you do if you had a million dollars? I would lease a new car every 6 months, buy a new house and invest the rest.

If you could travel to one place in the world – where and why? Italy. I’m Italian and I would love to see where my ancestors are from and be able to eat authentic Italian food.

Why do you choose to work at Jakprints? You can be yourself without worrying that anybody will judge you and I love the people I work with.

What are some interesting projects you’ve been a part of? We have great customers with great ideas. I have been part of many interesting projects, some are from customers and some are for our own marketing.

What are your favorite aspects of what you do at Jakprints? I like that I am able to help or assist others on a daily basis. I also enjoy seeing so many different awesome ideas come to life. I could honestly say that I enjoy working at Jakprints far more than any other job I have ever had.

Chickpea Magazine’s Goals

• Bring together the vegan community in a positive way.
• Banish the traditional, ad-centered magazine layout.
• Try to introduce people to a whole foods, plant-based lifestyle.
• Bring fresh designs to the table.
• Emphasize that cooking from scratch is enjoyable and something to look forward to.

Jakprints VP of Marketing, and devout vegan, Dameon Guess reached out to Chickpea through Kickstarter to let them know we could help them with printing their first issue, which they gladly accepted. The result is a beautiful, 96 Page, perfect bound magazine.

Whether you’re new to the world of veganism, or a seasoned veteran, Chickpea Magazine is a great resource for the community. If you would like to find out more about Chickpea Magazine, or to make a contribution, you can check out their website www.chickpea-magazine.tumblr.com. For purchasing and subscriptions, click http://www.etsy.com/shop/shshhshop.

The gallery below has additional product photos as well as a few from Chickpea’s Kickstarter contributor dinner.

• Product 
  Magazine – 96 Pages (including cover)
• Process 
  Digital Full Color Printing
• Stocks (Cover and Interior)
  Cover: 80# Nekoosa Dull Cover + Overall Matte Aqueous Coating  + Interior: 80# Nekoosa Dull Text

• Finished Size 
  8.25 × 10.75 inches
• Inks
  Full Color Process (4/4)
• Finishing
  Collation, Folding and Perfect Bindery

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!

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.

ORANJE is an interactive event that showcases contemporary art and music within a stimulating, urban setting. In 2002, Adam Crockett and Ryan Hickey’s shared passion for art, music, experience and creativity gave birth to the first ORANJE; ten years later, it has grown into a regional powerhouse. ORANJE has showcased the talents of 250 fine artists, 125 musicians and 30 independent film makers; and, boasts an annual attendance of more than 3000!

Indy-based, full-service agency Matchbook Creative  were the brains and brawn behind the silver-and-orange themed 2011 collateral. They’ve worked with ORANJE for a number of years and devised the clean design — along with an eye-catching color scheme of Pantone Silver 877 C Spot color and bright CMYK orange — to celebrate ORANJE’s tenth anniversary. Matchbook did a phenomenal job promoting the event with promo postcards and posters; a limited-edition poster; 18-page onsite guide book; tickets with numbering; official ORANJE t-shirts; and custom VIP passes.

Our booth saw lots of traffic throughout the day, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t slink away to check out Indiana’s finest (and stuff our faces with Natalie Pipkin’s awesome mini cheesecakes from The Mini Bar).

Take a peek, here’s a few of the über talented people:

• Great art was everywhere, like, Jonathan Foerster’s otherworldly compositions, Kyle Spear’s unbelievable photography, Justin Schwab’s studies on time, and we’re now the proud owners of one of Cameron Oehler’s Triforce End-Grain Cutting Boards because… well, because it’s Zelda, that’s why.
• We can’t forget the bands! With so many fantastic musicians it felt like a certain Alfred Hitchcock flick: Irene & Reed’s sultry piano pop; new new wave Beta Male; Indy’s Paramore-esqe Neon Love Life; and the quirky jascha. were some of the acts we had the chance to catch while running around; definitely check ‘em out!
• Dan Trachtenberg’s Portal: No Escape had the internet buzzing a few weeks ago, but seeing it on the big screen was unforgettable.

Can’t wait for ORANJE 2012!

We are happy to say that, despite the oppressive heat, Jak Of All Trades Fest rocked Cleveland this past Labor Day Weekend. We packed our one-day event with all things Jak and perfectly represented our love of skateboarding, art, music, fashion and bicycles. Local food trucks served up their best dishes while our complimentary beer and water kept more than 1500 attendees cool. There is no way we could have pulled off the event without the help of our headlining sponsor HP, our media sponsor Scene Magazine, our event coordinator Angela Hetrick, over 80 local sponsors or all of the amazing models and volunteers.

Skateboarding

Spectators and skaters alike enjoyed our skateboarding street course, while DJ’s Rob Ortenzi and Mister Bradley P provided the soundtrack. We collaborated with Public Square Group on a green-screen photo booth to help raise money for Crooked River Skate Park – bringing in more than $700 to help fund Cleveland’s very own world-class skate park!

Vendor Village

The Vendor Village was abuzz with visitors and vendors. Just to name a few: We had Atom Bomb Tattoo and Voodoo Monkey Tattoo available for walk-up consultations, while Foodgazi, Little Korboose, Scene Magazine and Washington, D.C., guest Sarkhead displayed their products and services. The savior of the day was Big Fun; their box full of squirt guns, enjoyed by young and old, was definitely a relief in the hot sun!

Art Mural + Acitvities

A big thank you to Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School for their event; Faber-Castell for the amazing Interactive Art Tent; all the artists that contributed to The William Rupnik Gallery Live Mural Art Installation sponsored by Fifth Third Bank; and Millcraft Paper Co. for providing the semi-truck for our art gallery that showcased many of our talented employees, customers and friends.

Tours

More then 500 people got a behind-the-scenes look at what makes Jakprints tick. We gave away 700 event shirts showcasing our exclusive soft vibrant inks with a 10-color print.  If you didn’t have a chance to take a tour, give us a call — we’d love to show you around!

Fashion Show

Without a doubt, our fashion show was the highlight of the day. More than 125 people watched our outstanding models from Ohio Model And Talent with hair and makeup by Crazy Mullets and Savvy Salon.  Tyler Mills of FDZ Clothing offered to DJ for the show as we showcased great boutiques and clothing lines. The styles seen were provided by: Banyan Tree, Dredgers Union, Brigade, Turnstyle, Bodek & Rhodes, indiemerchstore, Independent Trading Company, Shelf Life Clothing, Strhess Clothing, Stheart, iLTHY, FDZ Clothing, Western Evil and Angapunk.

Music

The live music stage — hosted by our emcees Brad Robinson and Michael “Bruzzie” Nassif of the Fuzzy Stones — kept things jamming. Local bands BattleStar, Two Hand Fools, Ultra Ultra, Cypher, Burger Boys and Megachurch showed that the Cleveland music scene is never dull. All of the six bands that played contained Jakprints employees as members!

Bicycles

If you rode your bike to the event with Joy Machines Bike Shop and Crank Set Rides, you know we offered a free bike valet throughout the day. A special thanks to Ohio City Whips for braving the hot sun and heat while keeping our bikes safe!  The Pedal Republik of Cleveland showed us what bike polo is all about, with pick-up games against rival teams from Pittsburgh and Columbus. They were also happy to give beginner lessons to whoever was interested.

Charity + Raffle

The excitement was palpable as we raffled off over 50 different and amazing prizes throughout the day. When it was all said and done, we raised $4,000 for our sponsor charities MidTown Cleveland and Community Greenhouse Partners. The food trucks also raised charity donations — StrEat Mobile Bistro raised $100 for the Cleveland Food Bank; Umami Moto raised $100 for the Berea Animal Rescue Fund; and Dim And Den Sum raised $75 for the Goodwill Industries Of Greater Cleveland. Together, we emptied 27 kegs of beer and had zero injuries!  If you donated a raffle prize, manned a table, took photos or helped out in anyway we are extremely grateful! If you were there to enjoy the day we hope you had as much fun as we did!