Emboss – Ball & Doggett

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Level-up your printed pieces

January 23, 2020

Every paper stock has different inherent qualities based on the composition of the fibres in the pulp and how the paper is manufactured. Some papers are better suited to certain types of embellishment than others. We strongly recommend discussing what you want to achieve, along with your choice of paper, with your commercial print supplier before making a decision. Choosing the wrong stock for embellishment can be a disaster!

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Embossing

Embossing creates a striking tactile finish by leaving an image either indented or raised on the surface of the paper. Embossing can be done on many types of papers and boards. Blind embossing is embossing on a non-printed area (ie: there is no printed graphic to act as a guide — it is being done ‘blind’). Debossing, or negative embossing is embossing ‘into’ the paper instead of ‘out’ of the paper.

Budget

Price Rating: 6/10

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Form cutting

Form cutting, also referred to as stamping or knifing, involves making a die that is stamp pressed against the paper stock to cut a shape. Form cutting can be used to create a custom shaped outer contour or to cut a window or shape out from the finished piece. Kiss cutting is similar to form cutting, but does not cut all the way through the stock material. Kiss Cutting is often used in manufacturing peel and stick labels.

Budget

Price Rating: 6/10

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Spot UV

Spot UV is a gloss coating applied using ultra-violet radiation to cure the finish to the paper stock after the printing has been finished. Spot UV is often mistaken as a gloss Laminate finish as both have a similar appearance — but, a Spot UV has the advantage of being able to be applied in specific areas or as a image, not just as an all over finish.

Budget

Price Rating:8/10

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Foil stamping

Foil stamping, also referred to as foiling, uses heat to adhere a foil material directly onto the paper surface. Foils come in many different colours and finishes including metallic, reflective and even holographic. Foils are opaque and can be used on coloured or black paper stocks to create a crisp, unique look. Some paper stocks, particularly textured paper, are not suited to foil stamping finishes.

Budget

Price Rating: 8/10

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Laminates

Available in both a gloss and matt finish, a laminate is a protective film that is applied over the surface of a printed piece. Sometimes a laminate is applied to a single side only (such as on a cover), or to both sides. A laminate gives a superior level of protection, is more durable and has a more striking finish than a varnish.

Budget

Price Rating: 6/10

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Varnishes & aqueous finishes

Available in gloss, satin and matt, a varnish or aqueous finish provides an all-over protective coating that is scuff resistant and will stop ink rubbing off. Whilst a varnish or aqueous finish is more cost efficient than a laminate it also has considerably less visual impact.

Budget

Price Rating: 2/10

A raised or ‘multi-level’ emboss is next level

In our latest Knight campaign, we used a variety of print techniques. One of the most simple is the multi level or ‘raised’ emboss. A slightly different take on your standard emboss technique.

What is a raised emboss?

A raised or multi level emboss means the image or type area is raised to multiple levels to create a 3D type effect and in this case, with different depths.

What other kinds of embossing are there?
There is also blind embossing where you emboss the paper and leave it ‘as is’. The other option is to fill the indentation with ink or foil. You can also sculpt the die to have a bevelled edge which looks really good.

So it’s not a deboss?
That’s right, it’s not. A deboss means the surface is depressed instead of a raised impression which is what happens with embossing. So you inprint the image or type by pushing it into the paper (with embossing the impression is made from underneath).

Is it an expensive embellishment technique?
It can be pricey, depending on the area you want to embellish. The money is in the block that is made. So sometimes, if it suits the project, you’d get one block made and use it across different stationery items.

Is there anything I should avoid?
Make sure you allow for space in your design and also type, particularly with type because when your design is pressed into the paper, it will naturally appear closer together. For multi-level embossing use colour codes in your artwork to indicate various levels. Always best to speak to your printer before you deliver the files and find out how best to set them up. Also let them know what paper you are using.

Does it work better on some papers compared to others?
Long fibred papers don’t lend themselves too well to embossing but really, you can do it on both coated and uncoated paper with different results depending on the gsm, whether it’s textured etc. For example, an emboss may not turn out as deep on an coated paper due to a few things like the coating, but it still looks good. We used Knight Smooth Cream 250gsm in our promo and it worked a treat.

Do most printers do this type of work?
Some printers offer this service and usually, it’s the services of an embellisher you would seek. We used Avon in VIC in the case of the Knight promo. Call your paper specialist for the heads up on embellishers in your area.

Knight Smooth Cream 250gsm
• Foil produced by Avon
• Multilevel emboss with foil. 2 passes.
• Matt Gold 25

Our 2016 ‘Best in show’ calendar low down

December 11, 2015

Agency: Seesaw (VIC).
Stocks: Finesse Cast Coated 250gsm, Wild 150gsm, HannoArt Plus Gloss 200gsm, Knight – Smooth 140gsm, SKIN Curious Collection – Pink 270gsm, Curious Metallics – Virtual Pearl 240gsm, Envirocare 100% Recycled 250gsm, Cambric – Colonial White 270gsm, Tablex – Textures Wrinkles 280gsm, Kaskad – Peacock Blue 160gsm, Sovereign A2 – Silk 250gsm, Barry Bleach Board 170gsm, Rives Design – Brilliant White 250gsm, Sovereign Offset 160gsm and Sovereign A2 – Digital Gloss 200gsm.
Printed by: Rawsons Graphics. Spot UV Gloss by Horizon Graphics, emboss by Goldcraft. All in NSW
Printing specs: UV offset and Indigo digitally printed.

Bring on the 2016 Doggett calendar, as voted by YOU! Featuring many of our favourite papers and a few bells and whistles, ‘Best in Show’ is a celebration, a paper and poochie bonanza showcasing the most popular images dating back to 2000. The fate of the calendar was put in the hands of our customers, paper lovers and social family and over 1000 people submitted a vote. So a huge thank you, to everyone, who participated.

The cover and December artwork is by paper genius and friend Benja Harney. That man can fold paper like nobody’s business and also happens to be the loveliest guy. Benja also made the paper rosette worn by 100 pooches from around Australia that took part in the ‘Pimp my Pooch’ campaign.

What is this you speak of?! Pimped pooches?! We offered all our customers the opportunity to have their pooch feature as the January star in a custom Indigo printed calendar. Some of the stars are shown below and you can check out others on our Insta page.

To all of our lucky customers that receive a calendar, your rep is coming around in the weeks before Christmas with your copy. Enjoy!

Printing specs:

Cover: CMYK plus emboss on Finesse Cast Coated 250gsm.
Credits page: CMYK on Wild 150gsm.
January: CMYK on HannoArt Plus Gloss 200gsm.
February: CMYK on Knight – Smooth 140gsm.
March: CMYK plus 4 hits white ink (title of month) and 2 hits white ink (dates and image) on SKIN Curious Collection – Pink 270gsm.
April: CMYK on Curious Metallics – Virtual Pearl 240gsm.
May: CMYK on Envirocare 100% Recycled 250gsm.
June: CMYK on Cambric – Colonial White 270gsm.
July: CMYK on Tablex – Textures Wrinkles 280gsm.
August: CMYK on plus 4 hits white ink (title of month) and 2 hits white ink (dates and image) on Kaskad – Peacock Blue 160gsm.
September: CMYK on Sovereign A2 – Silk 250gsm.
October: CMYK plus Spot Gloss UV on Barry Bleach Board 170gsm.
November: CMYK on Rives Design – Brilliant White 250gsm.
December: CMYK on Sovereign Offset 160gsm. ‘Pimp my pooch’
Custom January month: Indigo CMYK on Sovereign A2 – Digital Gloss 200gsm. Please read the contents page and blurb of calendar.

Check out some of the ‘Pimp my Pooch’ entries. Woof!

Dot Georgoulas’ pooch Diego

Helen McGeachin’s pooch Finn

Renee Stead’s pooch Snoop

A little about us, a little about the calendar:
Dogs for Doggett seems a logical connection. But it wasn’t always the case. In the early 90s (hello purple, green and orange corporate colours!), David Lancashire suggested we should incorporate dogs into our marketing material. It took a fair bit of persuading to get Ken and John across the line. Who would have thought a funny name like Doggett would turn out to be such an asset! Fast forward to 2016 and ‘Best in Show’ is a celebration of doggie themed calendars from the last 15 years. It’s worth mentioning that over the years, the calendar has been just as much about the students/emerging talent that create it, as it is about dogs. Each year we brief in the doggie theme and are blown away by the creative ideas we get back. We’d like to say thanks to the students, lecturers and creatives that have helped us make the Doggett calendar such a success.

David Lancashire x Doggett

December 6, 2015

Designer: David Lancashire VIC.
Stock: Wild 450gsm (invite) and Wild 150gsm (envelope).
Printing specs: Blind emboss, foil and letterpress.
Printed by: Watermarx Graphics (blind emboss, foil and letterpress). Envelope printed by Social Printing. Both in NSW.

This story comes in two parts and is really, mainly, about the great man himself David Lancashire. Not only can we thank David for the doggie branding he created in the 90s waaaay back when MC Hammer pants were cool and bum bags were an accessory of choice, he also custom illustrated our Christmas card this year. Being our 40th year in the paper biz, we thought it fitting David designed our Christmas card.

Each pooch represents one of the Doggett’s that work in the business today. Ken (Director), John (Director), Simon (Managing Director), Nathan (National Sales Manager), Heath (Sales Manager, Victoria) and Catherine (National Marketing and Sustainability Manager) holding the star.

We used Wild for the card, a 35% cotton paper combining softness with strength, a luxurious feel and very high bulk. The 450gsm card is printed with a blind emboss and foil on the front, letterpress on the inside. The 150gsm envelope features a blind emboss of ‘poodle and fatty’ (more of our doggie branding). Embellishments and Wild go together like brandy sauce and Christmas pudding (cue tummy grumbling).

A conversation with David:
We wanted to celebrate David’s history and career too, so we sat down and had a bit of a chin wag. Here’s how it all started…

A young David Lancashire came to Australia as an 18 year old 10£ pom in search of sun and adventure. At first he found work on the factory floor and production line of Weyland Motors. Hardly adventurous for him! David soon realised that he was not cut out for such a repetitive job and after two long weeks quit in search of something ‘creative and stimulating’. He found his way to Claret St Studio, in Vogue House in Sydney. He stayed there for a few years before a driving trip back from Adelaide saw him pass through Melbourne. He decided Melbourne was a pretty good place to try. He drove in his Land Rover straight from Sydney to the doors of Art Associates, brushed off his folio and walked in and asked for a job. He started that day.

Flash forward 10 years and David started his own studio and began working for lots of big names including Spicers and Daltons paper. Ken Doggett saw the great work David had been doing and approached him to revamp the Doggett branding. At first David said no due to a conflict of interest! But Ken persisted and David eventually came around to see the potential.

He pitched the idea that our funny name should be highlighted to create a memorable campaign. Ken and now John were NOT keen. Names like dogs body, dogs s**t were commonly thrown around at school and they didn’t plan to bring more attention to it. But David presented the concept of ‘Doggett’s take the lead’ and illustrated our first dog. It was a big hit with the staff and customers and from there the concept took off.

The purple, green and orange corporate colours came next. “The other merchants all had very traditional branding, Doggett’s were the new kid on the block and we needed to stand out. Purple certainly did that!” said David.

“The swatch kit came next, based around the theme of ‘the dog ate my shoe’ with each one representing the different papers. We sourced some great old shoes from the powerhouse museum and included even some of my families old shoe.”

And of course there’s the 266 PMS purple iconic doggie trucks. We thank our lucky stars that David pitched the idea to wrap our trucks and often when we tell people where we work they say: “Oh you work at that place with the purple trucks.” They’re hard to miss!

That’s a wrap. Thanks to everyone for your continued support in 2015 and we wish you a joyful and festive summer.

Ho, ho, ho and woof!
Love us.

Bailey catalogue by Hoyne Design

November 22, 2015

Title: Bailey
Agency: Hoyne Design (VIC)
Stocks: Curious Matter Goya White 270gsm, Sovereign A2 – Silk 150gsm and Strathmore Premium Enhance Ultimate White 118gsm.
Printing specs: Offset printed plus clear gloss foil, black gloss foil, spot gloss UV, embossing, die cutting and laser cutting.
Printed by: Bambra Press (VIC).
Design and photography: @lyntoncrabb.

The latest Bailey Luxury Bedding catalogue by Hoyne Design really is a work of art, showcasing the best of the best in layout, photography and print production. One flick through its pages and you’ll be wanting to deck-out your bedroom in their beautiful, sumptuous bed linen which includes throws, pillow cases, sheets and duvet covers.

Hoyne Design did a stellar job of creating the catalogue using subtle, beautiful details like the satin material tag on the spine, embellishments and use of textured and glossy papers. It makes flicking throug the catalogue a really interesting, tactile experience and tunes into the right senses. The enviable list of embellishments include a clear gloss foil, black gloss foil, spot gloss UV, embossing, die cutting and laser cutting. It’s no wonder they were nominated as an AGDA Award finalist (Design Craft category) this year. The cover is printed on Curious Matter Goya White 270gsm plus Sovereign A2 – Silk 270gsm and Strathmore Premium Enhance Ultimate White 118gsm for the text.

The Bailey brand has quite a story to tell too. A bespoke bedding manufacturer, they partner with top craftspeople from around the globe to create their collections. To produce Bailey’s Belgian linen for example, they worked with masters of linen – who move the flax into the factories, make the yarn and undertake the finishing. Italian weavers from the historic milling town of Biella are chosen for their reputation in producing high quality wools and yarns. Mills nestled in the north east of Scotland produce Bailey’s cashmere throws. If you like the sound of this, visit their site for more juice. It’s a pretty amazing story.

Interested in getting a look-see at the exceptional printed piece that is the Bailey catalogue? Please contact your friendly paper specialist.

Latest Rives promo ‘snail mail’, by Ortolan

Title: Sail mail
Agency: Ortolan (VIC)
Stocks: Rives Design Bright White 120gsm, Rives Tradition Bright White 120gsm, Rives Tradition Digital Bright White 250gsm, Rives Design Bright White 350gsm, Rives Tradition Pale Cream 320gsm, Rives Design Natural White 350gsm, Curious Translucents 92gsm and JAC Brilliant Gloss White.
Printing specs: Offset and Digitally printed.
Printed by: Mercedes Waratah (offset), Press Print (digital) and JBS Printers (stickers). All in VIC.

‘Snail Mail’, celebrates the idea of love letters, intimate notes and whimsical celebrations. It’s no surprise we are lovers of paper in all varieties so it’s been a real treat to work on this promo that showcases the Rives range. It’s sure to inspire the inner romantic in you all, it certainly has with us!

Created by the super talented team at Ortolan, in particular Kat Macleod and Holly Canham, the Rives stationery set showcases the versatility of the range. There’s a mix of Design and Tradition, printed both offset and digital, with wrapping paper and A5 envelope printed on Curious Translucents for something a little different. We couldn’t go past adding some stickers to the set, printed on JAC Brilliant Gloss White.

This beautiful piece features delicate hand painted scenes of flora and fauna dotted with silver foils, a blind emboss and little die cut bite marks that ties each of the applications together in a delightful combination. We can even imagine seeing this illustration printed as bespoke wallpaper or as a textile pattern for Gorman’s new spring range.

Rives’ premium surface is engineered for beautiful colour reproduction and because we were working with watercolour and illustration, without the complexities of skin colours and hi-end photography, the print experience was a dream. Rives is ideal for all kinds of contemporary communications including stationery, annual reports, cards, direct mail, envelopes, menus, packaging, swing tags plus much more.

Printing specs:

Transparent envelope: Curious Translucents 92gsm, printed CMYK offset by Mercedes Waratah.
Belly band: Rives Design Bright White 120gsm, printed offset PMS489 (peach) by Mercedes Waratah.
Wrapping paper: Curious Translucents 92gsm, printed CMYK offset by Mercedes Waratah.
Writing paper: Rives Tradition Bright White 120gsm, printed CMYK offset by Mercedes Waratah.
A5 tech spec card: Rives Tradition Digital Bright White 250gsm, printed CMYK plus silver foil on a HP Indigo by Press Print.
Stickers: JAC Brilliant Gloss White, printed offset by JBS Printers.
A6 cards:

– Card 1 (leaf): Rives Design Bright White 350gsm, printed CMYK offset plus diecut by Mercedes Waratah.
– Card 2 (blind emboss): Rives Tradition Pale Cream 320gsm, blind emboss plus diecut by Mercedes Waratah.
– Card 3 (butterfly): Rives Design Natural White 350gsm, printed CMYK offset plus silver foil by Mercedes Waratah.
C6 envelopes:

– Envelope 1: Rives Design Natural White 350gsm, printed CMYK offset by Mercedes Waratah.
– Envelope 2: Rives Design Bright White 350gsm, printed CMYK offset by Mercedes Waratah.
– Envelope 3: Rives Tradition Pale Cream 320gsm, printed CMYK offset by Mercedes Waratah.

A bit about Rives:

The Rives range made by Arjowiggins is all about the tactile experience of paper with textures inspired by the craftsman’s hand. The Tradition surface has a subtle and modern, refined felt-like finish. The Design features a fine mesh texture. This timeless and elegant range is also available in Design Digital and Tradition Digital – both Indigo compatible sheets in 120gsm. Rives Design and Tradition are available in 120-350gsm.

We suspect you’ll be itching to get your hands on these beauties but rest assured your friendly paper specialist will be by soon with a copy especially for you. Remember, you can always visit this part of our website for more information about this range or explore our new ‘Colour wall‘ to see the real deal. Enjoy!

Macarthur Heights property brochure by Enigma

January 21, 2015

Title: Macarthur Heights property brochure
Agency: Enigma (NSW)
Stocks: Strathmore Premium Super Smooth Ultimate White 352gsm cover and 148gsm text
Printing specs: Offset printed
Printed by: Greg Tapp Printing (NSW) and embossed by Avon Graphics (NSW)

Macarthur Heights is a premium house and land release by developer Landcom in Campbelltown, NSW. Designed by the team at Enigma in Newcastle, the brief was to create a high-end brochure that captured the lifestyle offered by Macarthur Heights.

The property brochure comprises of a 4pp folder printed on Strathmore Premium Super Smooth Ultimate White 352gsm featuring an embossed “M” on the front. When it came to selecting the paper Enigma explains: “it was very important for the embossing to be sharp and tactile so we were looking for an uncoated stock that would be able to deliver the look and feel we were after.”

The 12pp brochure is printed on Strathmore Premium Super Smooth Ultimate White 148gsm with saddle stitched binding. The smooth, uncoated finish of the stock lends itself beautifully to lifestyle photography. “We were delighted with the finished product. The printed reproduction of the images is extremely sharp and the rich, solid colour throughout adds life and vitality to the piece. The client was extremely happy with the end result.”

Christmas matters

December 18, 2014

Title: K.W.Doggett Fine Paper 2015 Christmas cards
Agency: Hofstede Design (VIC)
Stocks: Curious Matter Desiree Red 380gsm and Adiron Blue 270gsm (cards). Tablex Salmon and Kaskad Sparrow Grey (envelopes).
Printed by: Apex Gold Stamping (cards and address labels), Northern Tag Stringers (envelopes). Both in VIC.

Our super cheery Christmas cards are printed on new specialty range Curious Matter. Hofstede Design have done a great job of creating a striking yet intentionally simple graphic, making the paper the star of the show. Each card is made-up of two pieces that interlock to make a four sided tree design. All we need now are teeny tiny presents to sit under the tree!

For something extra special, we created envelopes printed on Tablex Salmon and Kaskad Sparrow Grey plus some embossed return address labels to seal the deal.

Curious Matter
The Curious Matter range made by Arjowiggins Creative Papers, is all about the tactile experience of the paper. It’s sand-like yet silky feel (because of the potato starch it’s coated with) is sure to have you addicted. Did we mention it has a colour palette that really pops?! Available in 125, 135, 270 and 380gsm, it will fill your dreams with ideas about your next paper creation.

Printing specs:

Card 1 – printed white foil stamp on Curious Matter Desiree Red 380gsm.
Card 2 – printed white foil stamp on Curious Matter Adiron Blue 270gsm.
Envelope 1 – custom made, on Kaskad Sparrow Grey 160gsm.
Envelope 2 – custom made, on Tablex Salmon 150gsm.
Address labels – custom made on Doggett label white gloss.

Phew! Merry Christmas everyone and stay tuned for more updates on the official launch of Curious Matter in the New Year. Enjoy!

Take a walk on the Wild side

February 19, 2014

Title: Take a walk on the Wild side

Stocks: Wild
Printed by: Bambra Press (VIC). Avon Graphics (VIC). Hungry Workshop (VIC)

It’s a little bit naughty and very cheeky. It’s our new paper promotion for Wild, a creamy white paper with 35% cotton content. To launch this uniquely textured product, we asked internationally acclaimed illustrators Craig & Karl from Jacky Winter to create an illustration based on the theme ‘Wild’ and boy, did they have fun.

The promo is made up of four A5 cards with different print techniques applied to each and a custom envelope that features a rather interesting illustration. The theme is: ‘The player gets played’ which captures the idea that anyone can have a wild side. And in some cases even more wild then you would expect. Wait till you see the cards!

Wild has a lovely tactile quality to it and is ideal for letterpress and offset printing, as well as embellishments like embossing/debossing and hot foil stamping.

Stock and print specs
Envelope: Printed 4 colour process 2 sides on Wild 300gsm.
A5 cards: Offset: Printed 4 colour process on Wild 150gsm.
Foil: Printed Silver Shatter on Wild 300gsm.
Letterpress: Printed 2 colour (Warm Red + PMS285) on Wild 450gsm.
Blind emboss: Printed on Wild 850gsm.

Applications
Gift cards, invitations, presentation material, swing tags, business cards, cosmetic packaging, luxury packaging and confectionery.

So do you have a wild side? We’ve shown you ours…

BTP has a fresh new look

August 20, 2013

Title: BTP stationery suite
Agency: BTP
Client: Self promotion
Stocks: Keaykolour Original / Strathmore Premium Wove / Tablex
Printed by: Verko Press

They’ve done it again. Melbourne creative practice BTP (formerly called Beyond the Pixels) has delivered yet another classic identity design only this time, they are the client! Introducing the ever so stylish re-branded BTP. Having undergone significant growth in the last few years, the team felt it was time to up the creative anti.

Principal, Che Douglas says the re-brand reflects BTP’s belief “in better business through design.” The result is simple, stylish and progressive. The stationery suite boasts a brilliant mix of bold Swiss style typeface softened by a reduced type size and hand embossing. BTP chose Keaykolour Original Sombre Grey 250gsm, Keaykolour Original Navy 250gsm, Tablex Buff 150gsm and Strathmore Soft White 118gsm specialty paper stocks. The plush butter, navy and warm grey tones of the paper paired with PMS Black 7 and clear verko printing delivers a stunning tactile finish across the entire stationery range. Did we mention that the signature of each staff member has a personalised emboss on their business card? Very swish indeed.

It comes as no surprise that BTP has earned a solid reputation as industry leaders in the branding and digital spaces. A culmination of over 25 years of design practice experience has led them to industry awards and recognition for projects such as Patricia cafe, the 2012 Australian Design Biennale website and Starward Whisky. It’s great to see local creative business kicking butt. We’re looking forward to seeing more big things from you BTP!