“The Creative City” catalogue. Produced as part of the Birmingham Design Festival. Credit: Luke Tonge.

We were honoured to be a Main Partner for the 2021 Birmingham Design Festival, with the printed catalogue gaining recognition in the Digital Printer Awards, becoming a finalist in the ‘Books’ category.

Working with Birmingham Design, we produced a catalogue of artwork from some of the region’s top designers as part of their “The Creative City” 2021 Summer Conference, a celebration of the local design industry held in Birmingham in August 2021.

Wanting to make an impact with visitors to the conference, Birmingham Design sought to create a high-quality keepsake catalogue, showcasing some unique designs from over 100 design professionals from around the region.

A variety of colours from the G. F. Smith Colorplan range were used for the covers. Credit: Luke Tonge.

Ensuring the printed catalogue matched the quality of the designs, it was important that the best materials were used. Using a variety of colours from the G. F. Smith Colorplan range meant the catalogue covers could match the ‘colour’ theme of the conference, as well as the diversity of the designs within. Munken Polar Rough was the obvious choice for the inner pages, thanks to its unique, tactile, natural and authentic appeal.

In 2020, we invested in two state-of-the-art Xerox Iridesse 8-colour digital presses, with premium print projects like this in mind. The speciality opaque white ink from the Iridesse gave Birmingham Design the creative freedom to let the Colorplan stock be the centre of their design, allowing the finished cover to be clean, simple and vibrant.

The covers were digitally printed using opaque white ink on our Xerox Iridesse presses. Credit: Luke Tonge.

The decision to PUR bind the catalogues complemented the quality of the papers and designs, whilst also creating a wonderful experience when handling and reading. Birmingham Design wanted a reliable and long-lasting bind, but also something which would look beautiful and sharp on the shelf/table, making PUR binding the perfect solution.

Luke Tonge, from Birmingham Design, commented “We're really delighted with the catalogues and the work Clarkeprint have done for us on it – it turned out exactly as I'd hoped and there's honestly nothing I would change if we were to do it again. It feels substantial, quality, and of value – which reflects the amazing work within its pages, and especially when seen together as a set, it is immensely appealing.”

“Partnering with G. F. Smith to ensure we were working with the very best raw materials has elevated it to new heights, and it's already been wildly popular. I expect it will sell out quickly and the fortunate folks who got one will be enjoying it for many years to come.”

PUR binding the catalogue allowed the catalogue to look beautiful and sharp, whilst also being durable. Credit: Luke Tonge.

Nigel Clarke, Director at Clarkeprint adds “It’s been an absolute pleasure to be involved in the production of the Creative City catalogues, the quality of work within is stunning and highlights what a wealth of artistic talent we are blessed with in Birmingham.”

“I’m delighted with the finished catalogues, the crispness of the opaque white ink against the vibrant shades of Colorplan papers looks fantastic and the richness of the print inside helps deliver real impact to the theme of BDF this year, namely ‘Colour’. I'm confident that the designers will feel we’ve done justice to their work.”

An peak at the designs from some of Birmingham’s top designers. Printed on Munken Polar Rough stock. Credit: Luke Tonge.

have a premium print project coming up?

Get in touch so we can discuss how you can enhance your designs with premium print enhancements, including metallic gold, metallic silver, opaque white (like on the Birmingham Design Festival catalogues), and clear ink. Metallic foiling and digital die-cutting are also available.

We pride ourselves on being ‘More Than Just a Printer’, which is why we also offer web-to-print, pick and pack storage and distribution, direct mail, print consultation and more, in addition to traditional printing services.