505 - 1 - Consideration of Process

As the brief states I must respond in the form of a traditional poster, I thought it would be a good idea to consider all the various processes available to me at LCA and at home:

- Screenprint
Screen printing is one of the earliest methods of printing. It involves the passing of ink or any other printing medium through a mesh or 'screen' that has been stretched on a frame, and to which a stencil has been applied. The stencil openings determine the image that will thus be imprinted.

Like many printing processes, screen printing has its origins in the Far East but it only really began to gain popularity in Europe at the start of the 20th century, when fine silk meshes became more readily available. In the 1960s, the process became synonymous with Andy Warhol, whose famous Pop Art renditions of Marilyn Monroe, electric chairs and soup cans were all variations on screen printing, using photo emulsion.

This is the most obvious and effective straight-forward response I can use for the project. It is readily available at college, and I can easily separate the layers of colours in my final poster to print each of them separately. 





- ..partnered with Varnish
I can partner screenprinting with a spot varnish:
SPOT UV varnishing has been around for many years and it remains one of the most popular creative print finishes ever.
There are now a few choices of Spot UV Varnish: the obvious matt and gloss options are widely used of course but you can have textured and glitter varnishes. For a visual and tactile effect, High Build Spot UV varnish can be applied.
Spot UV Varnish is generally a screen printed process where certain areas of a design are ‘picked out’ and the varnish is applied only to these areas. A gloss varnish is often applied over pictures or graphics to enhance them, this is especially effective where the background is very matt. A highly popular finish is to Matt Laminate and Spot Gloss UV as this gives the best contrast. 

You can also create some beautiful effects using Spot UV ‘blind’; in other words, a pattern, text or graphic is ‘picked out’ with the Varnish but doesn’t register with a printed element underneath. I could make use of varnish through my screenprint process.




- Letterpress
Letterpress is another traditional process which was the every-day printing technique for five centuries, until offset lithography took over.

In very simple terms, the ink is applied to the surface of metal type (which has a raised surface with a reverse image, like a rubber stamp) and the type is pressed against paper to make an ‘impression’.

The finished article has a tactile quality, with a thick layer of ink and a slight indentation where the type pressed against the paper which can enhance the detailing and effect. Images are reproduced in a similar way but is more complciated and rare, using blocks of wood, metal, lino or nylon.

At LCA we do have a good range of letterpress type pieces which I could make use of however I would be restricted to just the typefaces. 

As I have only ever experimented with letterpress in the induction I decided to go and have a play about with the machine and see how it works and what I could produce with it. 

The process is time consuming as you have to align the letters and spacing/kerning accordingly within your clamp. It was difficult to get a evenly weighted press so the process does leave you with some imperfections, however this could add to the effect if I wanted.







- The hands-on cut out response
This is quite a unique way of creating a composition, but does appear very effective. By layering up different coloured, textured paper you can create an image within, even petruding out sections of the piece for depth and to make it feel more 3d and developed.













- Hand-drawn signage/illustrations?

Staying true to the traditional history behind the building I could approach my poster design in terms of hand-rendered signage which was so popular before digital print came about. 

It would provide me with more of a rough style, reflecting history, but I don't think it would be appropriate or consistent with Headrow's current, modern identity










- Monoprint
Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that has lines or images that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, where there are multiple originals. There are many techniques of monoprinting. Examples of standard printmaking techniques which can be used to make monoprints include lithography, woodcut, and etching.
A monoprint is a single impression of an image made from a reprintable block. Materials such as metal plates, litho stones or wood blocks are used for etching upon. Rather than printing multiple copies of a single image, only one impression may be produced, either by painting or making a collage on the block. Etching plates may also be inked in a way that is expressive and unique in the strict sense, in that the image cannot be reproduced exactly.

This gives Monoprint processes that one-off exclusive feel, however would not be appropriate for producing a poster which would be highly produced and distributed to celebrate and advertise.

I could incorporate the process into my design, using it for unique background detailing, then using the same type/objects letterpressed or screenprinted ontop. However alone, the process feels to abstract for the clean and minimal design style associated with Headrow in Leeds.

- Lino-cutting

Involves cutting a design into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts that will be printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. 

It creates a distinctive linear style, however this would probably not be the most suitable process to represent Headrow.

- Foiling


Foiling is the last process I am going to discuss, it is rarely used alone and is classed as more of a finishing process to accent areas of a composition or invoke class and sophistication through its gold/metallic finish. This too would probably not be appropriate to represent Headrow, a creative and modern space designed for everyone.

Dependant on how my design ends up, I think screenprinting will be the most appropriate process I can use to transfer my digital design into a traditional process. Unless I experiment with actually drawing/cutting out the composition I produce I think screenprinting will be the process I use as I want to make the most of facility at uni whilst I can and build as many skills as I can within the process.