messaggio brochure 2011: behind-the-scenes!

Logically, the first step was choosing the best paper options.  

The cover needed to be both protective and pleasing to touch. We opted for an FSC certified 350 g/m2 coated paper. The paper we chose had the advantage of being a high quality ‘print’ paper while being sufficiently fibrous to offer the level of rigidity required for a 128-page brochure. We did opt to laminate the cover to reinforce the brochure and make it it even more pleasing to the touch. In general we avoid laminating, but when we do, we use acetate lamination, which - in contrast with polypropolene lamination - is fully recyclable. For the inside, we wanted paper that would bring our colors to life. Given that some pages are very ink-heavy we decided to use 150gsm FSC certified paper with a 3-layer coating, on both sides. Selecting the finish, opacity and weight (rigidity) of the paper presented us with interesting challenges - as always with this type of project the aim is to strike a balance between these factors, the printing quality and the ease of binding. Of course, all of these options must be considered upfront. Note that the FSC certification is internal and made possible because the entire brochure was produced using FSC certified paper.

But a brochure is more than just printing, it’s concept, design and getting the final files ready to print, we call that the  prepress process and our pre-press team was up to the task.

Indeed, after validating proofs and carrying out essential color tests, our prepress team prepared offset printing plates using CTP (computer to plate) imaging technology, without using chemicals. Given the wide range of different technical specifications required in our brochure they selected a 150dpi resolution, the safest option for this important project.

And it’s off to print!

Our operators set up the 8-color, 72 x 104cm Heidelberg printing press. This very modern type of press greatly limits paper waste at the set-up phase, allows for minimal use of additives and gives extremely high-level printing accuracy. Given that, in any one section, we find tint areas and images that require significant clarity in dpi, as well as areas that are dense in ink, printing on such sophisticated presses allow adjustments that accommodate these minute differences. A quick note about the finish. messaggio studios’ art directors told us they wanted a satin-finish on the brochure (certainly not a glossy one!) We succeeded by selecting a glossy stock which we then toned down with a matte acrylic varnish. Technical explanation: the initial glossy coating is a material that is much more less absorbent than a matte cover, it also allows for a much cleaner and more accurate framing. This in turn means the copies are of a higher quality. All we had to do was manage this shiny coating by covering it with a matte finish which also added an extra protective layer, facilitated the binding process and the readers’ handling of the brochure. 

Final steps

After the printing phase was over and everything was up to scratch for our proud press team it was time to go to the next step: the binding process. People tend to know less about this process and consider it as a minor step but, in fact the binding accentuates the quality of the product. In our case, each section was folded, the cover was coated, scored and the whole item is collated, bound and then packaged. We opted for sewn binding because of its durability and also to make it easy to fully open the brochure and appreciate each double-page spread. It is frustrating to have a document that you can’t fully open or that is damaged after you have handled it a few times. 

The last step was packing the brochures into light boxes and grouping these in protective pallets so that we could store and preserve the finished articles. 

The whole production team is very proud of our new group brochure and sincerely hope you will take as much pleasure from discovering it as we had creating it.