Creative Hero

Giunta alla sua sesta edizione – la prima è stata organizzata nel 2017 - Creative Hero ha raggiunto numeri record: quasi 700 studenti organizzati in oltre 243 gruppi e un coinvolgimento di quasi 20 istituti secondari di secondo grado e CFP a indirizzo grafico e artistico da tutta Italia. Il più grande contest d’Italia, pensato e organizzato dall’Istituto Salesiano San Marco di Mestre, Confartigianato Imprese Vicenza e il supporto di EBAV, è nato per offrire un’opportunità di crescita formativa e umana ai giovani che vogliono fare della comunicazione e della grafica pubblicitaria il loro mestiere. Il 6 e 7 novembre si è svolta la fase finale della gara per la prima volta sotto forma di bootcamp nei locali della Scuola Grafica dell’Istituto Salesiano San Marco di Mestre. Le migliori squadre in gara, selezionate dopo una prima valutazione fra le centinaia di partecipanti, sono state infatti accompagnate per 24 ore da tutor specializzati e formatori di grande esperienza per affinare i loro progetti ricevendo consigli, spunti e pillole formative. I tre briefer Latterie Vicentine (settore alimentare), Yuup (prodotti per animali) e La Saponaria (settore estetica e cosmesi) hanno chiesto ai ragazzi di progettare e realizzare nuove soluzioni grafiche per le etichette e il packaging dei loro prodotti.

I vincitori

Per ciascuna challenge sono stati decretati i vincitori e infine la squadra vincitrice in assoluto del titolo Creative Hero 2021: Dada dell’Istituto Palladio di Treviso composta da Tommaso Da Ros e Davide Rossetto. Hanno vinto invece le rispettive challenge: CRM dell’Istituto Pavoniano Artigianelli per le arti grafiche di Trento (Christian Massetti, Christian Moisa e Antonella Rattini), i Galoppini Galoppanti dell’ITT San Marco di Mestre (Gaia Garufi, Eva Boscolo e Pierfrancesco Tosato) e Big Hero 3 del Liceo Artistico Canova di Vicenza (Dimitri Tonello, Sarah Sanmartin e Chiara Bevilacqua). La menzione speciale per il progetto più creativo, decretata da Job Formazione e Roba da Grafici è infine stato assegnato al team Poteitos

dell’ITT San Marco di Mestre (Andrea Dian, Leonardo Zuliani e Stefano Girotti). «Se abbiamo raggiunto numeri così importanti di Creative Hero – afferma Matteo Dittadi, direttore della Scuola Grafica San Marco – è soprattutto grazie alla consolidata partnership con gli altri enti organizzatori, con gli sponsor tecnici e i media partner con i quali abbiamo il privilegio di poter collaborare: EBAV, Confartigianato Vicenza, TicTac Stampa di Thiene, Epson Italia, Cartes, Bagful, Stratego Group e PRINTlovers, Roba da Grafici e Job Formazione. Il bootcamp di due giorni – prosegue Dittadi – realizzato anche grazie al supporto di questi partner, ha ulteriormente allargato e arricchito la consolidata formula e migliorato l’esperienza della gara. Questa edizione ha aperto ulteriori spazi di crescita e sviluppo che già ci stanno stimolando per ideare e realizzare la prossima edizione. Quella del 2022 sarà ancora più entusiasmante!». Il format del concorso ha consentito ai ragazzi di confrontarsi con i colleghi di altre scuole e soprattutto di affrontare le difficoltà di rispondere a richieste di veri clienti in un settore così tanto appassionante ma difficile quale quello della grafica e della stampa, nel quale sono richieste competenze sempre più affinate sia tecniche sia trasversali. «Dopo l’esperienza da remoto e digitale del 2020 a causa della pandemia, questa edizione della Creative Hero è stata particolarmente emozionante – dice Silvia Pasquariello, presidente dei grafici di Confartigianato Vicenza – specialmente per la possibilità di tornare in presenza e di vivere momenti di scambio e di confronto dal vivo con i ragazzi. È stato davvero difficile quest’anno selezionare i vincitori non solo per l’importante numero dei partecipanti, ma soprattutto perché fra le centinaia di progetti vi erano delle idee davvero interessanti. L’esperienza del bootcamp è stata davvero la carta vincente che ha fatto la differenza nella qualità del contest e sicuramente ha messo le basi per un ulteriore salto di qualità per le prossime edizioni» conclude Pasquariello. La finale è stata trasmessa in streaming su YouTube e il materiale e le informazioni del contest si possono trovare sul sito www.creativehero.it.

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HOW PRINTLOVERS IS MADE

COVER The lovers inscription on the cover is hot foil stamped with LUXOR® 360 - a full, deep magenta.

LUXORO DIGITAL ENNOBLING The colours used are part of Kurz’s SCODIX line, a range of transfer products dedicated to digital enhancement. The holographic effect, SCODIX LASER/TS, characterises the iridescent, ethereal elements of the main character’s armour, while SCODIX 351/308 is the turquoise that gives the winged cat its luminous aura. The two SCODIX variants used here are bright and playful, and their relief printing provides the design with body.

MONNALISA PREMIUM WHITE 280 GSM PAPER The cover and back cover of this edition of PRINTlovers are made of Monnalisa Premium White by Cordenons, a prestigious coated paper that stands out for its extremely high degree of whiteness and toughness in heavy weights. The surface is natural with a smooth finish, has good opacity, a good hand and excellent resistance to creasing and folding. Both paper surfaces are treated offline with a special matt coating that enables a high ink holdout for brilliant images with great detail and contrast. Thus the colours of the “augmented reality” depicted are even more vivid and vibrant, taking us beyond the known threshold of imagination. PRINTING In the digital transformation era, the back cover of the final issue of PRINTlovers for the year 2021 could only be made through a completely digital process. Varigrafica puts forward as a press the HP Indigo 100K with its continuous calibration and colour optimisation during the printing phase, above all thanks to the innovative spectrophotometer setting that characterises it, guaranteeing an uncompromising result in line with an increase in productivity of over 35%. Almost like an Alice through the Looking Glass, the central character follows this journey into an alternative and unknown metaverse by dressing up in a suit of armour made with a digital finishing system using Scodix Ultra 2 Pro. The enamelled and extra iridescent 3D HiLux and HiLux Metal effects with semi-transparent holographic foil Lightline® Laser/TS make her a true heroine of the digital age. In this adventure, Alice is accompanied by a guiding animal, made even more special and rare by using particular turquoise shades, made with 3D HiLux Metal technology with Luxor® 308 foil. Through the mirror, our heroine performs an act of courage, managing to leave her old reality and enter a sort of all-digital Wonderland.

THE CREATIVE PROJECT IS BY THE EMBASSY How many worlds will the future consist of? Probably infinite – as many as our imagination can create. There will be alternative spaces in which we can take refuge for everything we need or want, designed and built according to our aspirations; we will move around creating the best and most up-todate version of ourselves; we will live engaging and exciting experiences, which we may not want or be able to do without. And will it be real? More than that: it will be augmented. Like our perceptions, which will make us feel immersed in a place rich in stimuli. Like the possibilities available, always new and to be discovered. Like our lives, which will be able to multiply following choices that are different every time, without any limitations. All we have to do is cross a threshold. We may not be fully aware of it yet, but we have already taken the first step. Working team: The creative project of the cover and back cover is by The Embassy Fabrizio Piccolini, Creative Director Fabio Paracchini, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Guido Lo Pinto, Art Director Barbara Gualandris, Designer and Illustrator Sissi Decorato, Copywriter Alessia Dubini, Intern Copywriter

PAPER

GRUPPO CORDENONS On the back of a long tradition, Gruppo Cordenons has specialised in developing creative papers, using the most advanced technologies and maintaining intact its vocation for creating high-end products with refined attention to detail. A specificity that distinguishes the company on the world scene and thanks to which it has developed a unique portfolio that today has over 2,500 reference points. Papers that differ in terms of type and application target, characterised by pearlescent, metallic and iridescent effects; by coatings that reproduce the softness and brightness of silk; by the look and feel of genuine leather and cards with a rubberised effect. In addition to these, there are the natural, soft-to-the-touch products thanks to the presence of cotton fibres and the eco-friendly ones produced with recycled fibres. Through an increasingly flexible production, Gruppo Cordenons offers customers - in addition to the wide range in the catalogue - the possibility of requesting supplies of customised papers based on specific colouring, weight and finishing requirements. www.gruppocordenons.com

PRINTING AND BACK COVER ENHANCEMENTS

VARIGRAFICA Varigrafica has been in the printing business for over 50 years, and today it is a leading company in Italy. Thanks to its experience and know-how, it is equally at home in international markets. Reliability and quality have increasingly become keywords, thanks to the passion present in the ownership and staff; passion that supports and is supported by an impressive fleet of machines from prepress to finishing. The product and the customer are placed at the centre of the production process to emphasise quality and cutting-edge technological features but above all the typical Made in Italy aspect: offering a tailor-made experience where the product is designed and created to measure, constantly looking for new solutions to meet changing market demands. www.varigrafica.com

ENGLISH VERSION

CLICHÉS AND COLOURS

LUXORO Luxoro is the exclusive partner in Italy of the KURZ Group, a world player and international reference

point in producing equipment and technology for hot and cold printing. Luxoro wants to spread a new way of thinking about packaging and brand image through its inspirations, new finishing solutions, and high-quality materials studied for unique designs. Whether it’s packaging, labels, publishing, security, cosmetics, automotive, white goods or fashion, Luxoro’s enhancements are always cutting edge and surprising. Luxoro’s decoration technologies and materials are among the best in the world, and expertise in advice and service is a cornerstone of the company’s philosophy. Luxoro is a supplier of decoration materials but it also develops with designers and creative people the best applications to bring their ideas to life. Thanks to strict corporate policies aimed at environmental sustainability, Luxoro has long been a 100% renewable energy and totally zero impact company. www.luxoro.it

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LUBIAM ELEGANT ECOLOGY

From clothes to hangers, from packaging to catalogues, Lubiam is an expression of Made in Italy excellence worldwide. CEO and style director Giovanni Bianchi tells us about the restyling, sustainability and defence of craftsmanship quality undertaken by the historic highend menswear group.

BY ACHILLE PEREGO

110 years of history behind it and a model of sartorial excellence that has always been modelled, cut and sewn in Italy with 330 employees, 84% of whom are women. Lubiam of Mantua, one of the historical groups of high-end menswear, has suffered the effects of the pandemic, as has the entire Made in Italy fashion industry, but is ready to start again. On the contrary,” says Giovanni Bianchi, CEO and style director of the Mantuan fashion house, which includes the Luigi Bianchi and L.B.M. 1911 brands for a pre-Covid turnover of almost 50 million euros, “we have already started up again. 2020 was a year complicated by the health emergency that had negative effects on the textile sector and on the one in which we operate; just think of the lack of events, fairs, congresses that affected formal garments or even simple smart working that kept people at home, in addition to the lack of ceremonies for which we produce, like Luigi Bianchi, a dedicated line. We are convinced,” continues Bianchi, “that the sector will make a strong recovery in 2022, but already this year, activity has moved back - I am thinking of formal wear - to pre-pandemic numbers. The boutiques are back in full swing, we’ve had a lot of requests in terms of restocking, and bespoke has also started up again with momentum. We have high expectations for the coming months. The pandemic has been a complicated period for Lubiam but also a time of change. Starting with the restyling of the historic Luigi Bianchi brand - the one most loved by VIPs around the world who, to name just two names, see their garments worn by chefs Antonino Cannavacciuolo and Alessandro Borghese - which from Spring/Summer 2022 will bring together the collections hitherto associated with three distinct brands: Luigi Bianchi Mantova Sartoria, Luigi Bianchi Mantova Flirt and Lubiam Cerimonia. “We have completely rethought the image with a restyling of the logo that goes in the direction of simplicity, immediacy and sophistication, to reach our target audience even more directly,” continues Giovanni Bianchi. “We wanted to embrace a philosophy based on the story of a unique and shared value universe.” In this universe, Lubiam has long since embarked on a path – which the pandemic has accelerated - towards sustainability, and this also concerns packaging. “With a view to smart & green evolution, the company has set itself the ambitious goal of further reducing the level of its environmental impact, which was already very low to begin with,” repeats Bianchi. “Since 2019, we have adopted a timed lighting system, and there has been a significant reduction in water consumption and boiler consumption; a new-generation photovoltaic system has also been installed, covering an area of almost 3,000 square metres. Among the most recent eco-friendly actions aimed at reducing the use of disposable plastic and adopting eco-sustainable materials are the production and use of a new type of garment cover, entirely recyclable, made of regenerated plastic. Since February 2020, a personalised water bottle, 100% made in Italy and completely recyclable, has been distributed to all internal resources. With this small gesture, all the company’s employees and collaborators become an active part of this Corporate Social Responsibility path”. This path includes the adoption of an innovative eco-sustainable hanger, a project designed with the specialist supplier of retail solutions Mainetti of Castelgomberto, in the province of Vicenza: “The historical wooden hanger has given way to a new generation of garment hanger, made with an innovative material designed in collaboration with Mainetti, with whom we have been working for a long time. It is a 100% recycled and 100% recyclable material, which mixes and blends wood and plastic from recycled post-consumer waste, treated strictly with water-based paints. Ethics and sustainability are fundamental values for the company and are also reflected in the design of the collections. The opaque and “raw” look of the surface has a vintage and natural flavour at the same time, taken up in the set of L.B.M.1911 colour charts, also renewed in colour and in 100% recycled paper”. What other significant news is there for the L.B.M.1911 brand - the less formal, younger and more innovative one? “The new Spring/Summer 2022 collection is an adrenaline-filled adventure inspired by the grit of the legendary “sixties”, a decade that helped write the history of the brand. A decade that helped write the history of motoring in Italy and internationally,” continues Bianchi. “Hollywood in that era began to take an interest in the world of racing, celebrating its energy and glamour. Drawing on those atmospheres, the creative team has selected combinations of models and fabrics destined to renew the concept of casualwear, proposing a new philosophy of “sartorial freedom”, an element that has always been present in the DNA of the L.B.M.1911 brand but has been particularly driven this season. The inspiration comes from two iconic films: “Le Mans ‘66” and “Indian”, which - not by chance - share a part of the title: “The Great Challenge”. But in addition to making the brand increasingly recognisable and capable of presenting a total look with the new Spring/Summer 2022 collection, we have launched the new www. lbm1911.com website dedicated to the consumer offer. For us, this is a fundamental step in the global digitalisation process that we are facing, without forgetting the importance of the traditional distribution network based on multi-brand shops and boutiques. The new site has been developed alongside an agency specialising in e-commerce in the fashion sector. It focuses on ease of use and the quality of the images, which is essential for best describing a sartorial product in detail”. Entering e-commerce, of course, also implies the conception of dedicated packaging, which Lubiam has entrusted to Smurfit Kappa Italia, which “also makes some of our window displays,” continues Bianchi, “of which we make limited use since we have a distribution network mainly with multi-brand shops. These are certified boxes that comply with strict sustainability criteria - which will be updated from 1 January 2022”, criteria for which Smurfit Kappa boasts ICILA certifications of compliance with standards for the

purchase of FSC Mixed corrugated and laminated cardboard and FSC recycled and FSC controlled wood board, the production of FSC Mixed corrugated and laminated cardboard packaging and displays, and finally for their marketing. “Our products,” Bianchi continues, “are eco-sustainable as they are part of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) chain of custody, which aims to ensure correct forest management and traceability of derived products, guaranteeing that the product is made with raw materials from forests that are correctly managed according to defined environmental standards. But even the printing colours do not contain mutagenic or carcinogenic substances. This attention concerns both our packaging and all our printed products in general”. And what about catalogues? “Both because of the advent of digital communication and the focus on the environment, in recent years we have significantly reduced the number of printed products and therefore the catalogues, which today are limited to the one for Lubiam Cerimonia”. And just in the last few weeks, the edition for 2022 has been produced (one is printed per year in about 6 thousand copies). Obviously, being in the fashion business, the catalogue is produced on high grammage paper, in several colours, including UV, by the Opero printing agency of Verona. From clothes to hangers, from packaging to catalogues, it can therefore be said that Lubiam is genuinely an expression of Made in Italy excellence in the world: “Made in Italy fashion still has enormous recognition and a large market in the world. This is why greater control over production chains is needed to recognise that in Italy, presenting oneself as Made in Italy is not limited to the last stitch. We will continue to focus on and invest in sartorial production in Mantua to defend quality and service, even though it is not easy to find young people to train for this work, which still has strong craftsmanship traits. And this focus on ‘sartorial’ production also involves choosing Italian excellence in the fields of graphics, printing and packaging,” concludes Bianchi.

Lubiam’s hangers are made of WPC DS40, a bio-composite that uses renewable resources from sustainably managed forests. Composed chiefly of wood fibre, it offers the mouldability of plastic and the strength and sustainability of wood while reducing the CO2 footprint by up to 80%. DS40R (recycled) WPC not only has the same characteristics as DS40 WPC but also contains a polymer base made from recycled polypropylene for even greater sustainability.

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ECO-CLEANING REVOLUTION

To the cry of “just add water!” more and more household care products are appearing on the shelves in solid, powder or concentrated form. New formulations that are light to carry and have a low environmental impact require new communication codes, new approaches to distribution and packaging that respond to eco-design principles.

BY ROBERTA RAGONA

It is a gradual but unstoppable revolution that goes hand in hand with the one taking place in cosmetics, with which it shares communication codes and has an aesthetic dialogue. It allows companies to optimise the logistics chain by having to move only the concentrated active ingredients and not the weight of water, it is advantageous for consumers in terms of convenience, and last but not least, it is good for the environment. Eco-cleaning is a scenario that includes different players. There are the big brands that have always been present in largescale distribution - such as ACE, a giant that recently launched its own green line with the creativity of the DLVBBDO agency. Then there are brands built over time around conscious consumption experiences - such as Officina Naturae and Bioermi di Allegro Natura. And there are also digital-first products created directly with subscription boxes and direct-to-consumer, such as R5. Each of these contexts brings design challenges and different ways of communicating with consumers that impact packaging choices. According to the latest Istituto Italiano Imballaggio (Italian Institute of Packaging) analysis of the household cleaning sector, plastic packaging - both rigid and flexible - will continue to dominate the landscape in 2020, providing 94% of the packaging for household cleaning products. However, this also includes biodegradable plastic packaging, which is growing steadily and is currently used mainly in concentrated refills for detergents and accounts for 1.5% of the total. The remaining 6% consists of 4% paper and cardboard boxes - used primarily for powder products and tabs - 1.5% metal containers, and the remaining 0.3% paper-based rigid laminated containers. But what are the criteria to be taken into account when developing these new formats?

Each formulation has its own material

Antonella Manenti, Art Director of HENRY & CO., the firm specialising in sustainable design that created Yousea’s packaging, explains that “acidity is a key issue in-home care, even more so than in cosmetics. All packaging must take this into account, especially when we have concentrated active ingredients. Another factor is the frequency of use of the product, so we can think about packaging degradation times based on preservation requirements, taking advantage of the characteristics of bioplastics. The other aspect, says Gianluca Carone, Senior graphic designer at DLVBBDO who created the ACE Green identity, is moisture resistance. “Not only for powders but also for liquid and solid concentrates, moisture is a relevant factor: it is essential to use materials with barrier capacity. Obviously, the new packaging must guarantee the same resistance to water-attack and protection from sunlight as traditional packaging, so we have preferred sealed packaging without large openings to the outside. We have chosen packaging made of planar flexographic printing, which is then die-cut, set up in paper converting and finished by offset printing.” Eco-design principles are an essential guide in the design of packs in terms of both materials and shapes, as Pierluca Urbinati, one of the two founders of Officina Naturae. This Rimini-based company has created special flat-shouldered bottles for its products to reduce the amount of air transported as much as possible and make full use of pallet space, all using a bioplastic derived from sugar cane waste since 2014. R5, a company from Bergamo that produces sustainable detergents and cosmetics made entirely in Italy, has chosen a special packaging for its refills made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). This water-soluble synthetic polymer is biodegradable and does not release toxic substances. The PVA film contains the concentrate but does not need to be disposed of, as it dissolves in water inside the detergent bottle. The refill set is contained in a recycled cardboard grid pack. For the supply of the adhesive labels, R5 works with a supplier who guarantees a chemical-free printing process, water-based varnishes, reduced water consumption during printing, and FSC certified recycled paper. Plastic is still a valuable ally in concentrated products, and Cristina Mollis, founder of R5, talks about “smart plastic”: the principle is to use plastic only where it is needed, favouring PET, which in the lifecycle assessment of materials was found to be the best both from a chemical point of view in preserving the product from degradation and in terms of end-of-life disposal.

Valuable design and conscious luxury

Recent years have brought an evolution in formulations and in-home care design. It’s a path opened up by brands working on both cosmetics and home care, who constantly listen to the desires of an attentive public. Antonella Manenti calls it “conscious luxury”. “These are objects with a strong component of consumption value: they make people feel part of a community, they have an aesthetic component that makes them suitable for lasting over time. The longevity of the packaging corresponds to the time it takes the consumer to make informed choices, an investment that pays off in the long run.” However, the quest for minimalism cannot forget its duty to inform and educate the consumer, as the case of Allegro Natura demonstrates. Cristina Gerbino, Senior Marketing Manager of the Piedmont-based company specialising in eco-bio cosmetics and detergents, tells us how a flexible solution has been created for its Bioermi range. The super-concentrates are sold in small dark glass bottles and contain a reference label inside. The consumer can choose whether to decant the vial into the special 500 ml screen-printed glass bottle or use another container with the label attached and thus have all the usage and safety information at hand. The idea of the screen-printed glass bottle is to take detergent products from under to over the sink, with packaging that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is sustainable and protects the product from light and oxidation. In the case of Officina Naturae, the dialogue between cosmetics and homecare started with cleaning products and then moved on to body care. Consistency of language becomes fundamental to address an informed target that tends to have very strong internal loyalty, i.e. it knows the brand for a particular product and, if the experience is positive, tends to explore and move on to the brand’s other offerings. This loyalty is created by product formulations and reinforced by consistent communication. But communication codes also change according to the audience, and when the audience is all Italian families, the design must be effective and straight to the point. The work done by ACE with DLVBBDO for the launch of its ACE Green line is emblematic in this sense. “Starting with the materials - cardboard and 100% recycled plastic - right through to the graphics and vocabulary, we chose to use clear, essential language that educates the consumer about the benefits of the product for their home and in environmental terms, and can make them understand the commitment to making products with less impact for the same level of effectiveness,” says Gianluca Carone of DLVBBDO. “The main sales channels are the large-scale retail trade and drugstores: both in terms of brand identity and sales channels, ACE is aimed at all Italian families. At the moment, according to Ipsos data, only 18% of consumers are willing to choose companies that are committed to the circular economy if this means higher prices: this is why ACE Green has decided to work on performance and sustainability while keeping prices in line with the brand.”

Distribution does the packaging

The different sales channels are a factor that impacts directly or indirectly on design choices. In large-scale distribution, the packaging must “speak for itself” and be self-sufficient in its product communication. At the same time, for brands present in specialised shops such as small chains, herbalist shops, and bio-perfumeries such as Officina Naturae and Allegro Natura, the one-to-one relationship between customer and retailer is fundamental in educating people about the use and advantages of products with which they are less familiar. This is why there is plenty of room for more experimental design choices. In the case of R5, on the other hand, which started as a product with digital as its main sales channel, the subscription box is a fundamental tool that will be extended to the entire product range. A choice based on numbers: 30% of the brand’s buyers are subscribers, and the rate of return buyers on the site is 40% of the total. What is the fate of physical shops in this scenario, and what consequences does it have for packaging? According to Antonella Manenti, the future of the large-scale retail trade is to become a collection point where people can stock up and dispose of used packaging. From a design point of view, the trend is more and more towards single-use materials, reducing or eliminating the use of glues and, where couplings are necessary, simplifying separation at the time of disposal (for example, glass with a plastic label because it is easier to remove and dispose of

than classic glued paper labels). With a view to efficiency and reducing waste, Pierluca Urbinati of Officina Naturae points out that we are increasingly moving in the direction of concentrated products, which guarantee maximum effectiveness of the active ingredients with minimum product waste, taking advantage of the possibilities of compostable or soluble packaging that allow to be packaged without overpackaging. The movement is increasingly towards the point where the detergent shelf is no longer an unavoidable necessity to be hidden under the sink but an integral part of the home landscape, as functional as it is beautiful to look at.

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DIGITAL FIDELITY

Colour management is no longer just a problem for professionals, photo-lithographers and printers. Today, everything is an image, and we are the leading producers of these images: the number of inputs and peripherals from which we use images and media has exploded. So does it still make sense - and more importantly, is it possible - to align profiles for all the possible outputs, including printing?

BY LORENZO CAPITANI

To Mauro Boscarol, undisputed master of colour management.

It was 2005 when Bruce Fraser’s Color Management came out. It was a turning point in which colour management was no longer just a problem for professionals, photo-lithographers and printers. Flatbed scanners appeared on desks, and digital cameras began to spread among photographers and others. Computers are also cheaper and programmes such as Photoshop are now also for consumers; Gimp (a free alternative) came out, and making a pdf for printing is now a matter of a few clicks. We are in the era of digital desktop publishing, and the entire sector is changing profoundly: what used to be entrusted to the photolithographer can now be done at home, or rather must be done at home to keep costs down. Then there is the Internet, where photos can be downloaded, but it is a pity that they are often in low resolution or not rights free. So people end up improvising as photographers, scanners, colourists and photolithographers. And then problems arise: usually at the end of the process, in pre-press, where you have to try to make up for it, or at the press, where often nothing more can be done, and disagreements and disputes ensue.

“In the old days, life was a lot simpler.”

So writes Fraser in the book. The era of one-input/one-output is over, and now for each acquisition device, there are multiple output peripherals and intermediate steps - between monitors, printers, colour proofs, remote approvals - to consider. Every monitor is different, every operating system manages colour in its own way; then there are the colour spaces and their gamut, the profiles, the rendering intents, the colour settings of the individual programmes, and so on down to the lighting conditions under which the originals, proofs and printed sheets are worked on or evaluated. In short, WYSIWYG is increasingly a myth: it is obvious that what you see is not necessarily what you will get. Abstraction from what the eyes see is not easy. The backlit RGB of the monitor is not 4-colour printing: even without considering paper, ink and technology, the colours that can be reproduced in four-colour process are fewer and not even all included in the RGB and so that intense sky or that acid green remain unreproducible.

Roberto Zucchelli, colour expert, recalls: “When professional photographers gradually switched to digital, the transition was not painless. For the first time, there was talk of colour profiles, a new technology that allowed the synchronisation of different equipment (camera, monitor, proofing printer). This represented an acceleration in the production process, allowing the direct use of the photographer’s shot and, at the same time, maintaining colour consistency thanks to colour profiles. However, this new workflow has not always delivered the desired results due to a lack of awareness in managing the various steps. For Gaetano Biraghi from Epson’s large format department, “before, with traditional shooting, we had a roll of film that allowed us a certain number of shots, now we take many more photos at no cost. Now with digital, retouching a photo offers so many possibilities that once you start, you may never finish.

Numbers never lie

This is the thesis of Katrin Eismann in her book Photoshop. Restoration & Retouching, first published in 2001. This is also the opinion of Biraghi from Epson: “Numbers are salvation. Colour management uses 4 cornerstones: input and output profile, rendering intent (i.e. how to represent colours that are out of gamut in the target space, ed.), Lab colour space and calculation model”. And it’s true - that’s what professionals do: they measure colour and don’t just rely on what they see on the monitor. But, as Marco Olivotto, colour expert and lecturer in photography and post-production, points out, “Numbers don’t tell the whole story: and not just for aesthetic reasons, but also for exquisitely perceptive reasons. Simultaneous contrast, for example, makes us perceive a colour differently depending on what surrounds it, but it is not linked to individual taste, nor can it be described by numbers alone. Numbers are the stick that helps us to walk the path, but in the end, it is we who choose where we want to go.” So it is essential to rely on numbers, but there must be a correct and conscious aesthetic discretion without being misled by the different performance of each device. But now that the number of inputs and peripherals from which we use images and media has exploded, and the possible outputs (of which printing is only one) are so many and so different, does a regulatory approach that claims to control the entire supply chain still make sense? As long as it is short or single-channel, as was the case with paper production, the development of the digital negative, colour correction and pdf creation were controllable (albeit with many difficulties) by aligning the profiles. But what about multichannel today? Does it make sense to worry about whether a dress will look the same on paper (glossy, matt, newspaper?), tablet, TV, digital wall in the shop, digital billboard in the station, notebook or laptop? It is impossible to truly govern uniformity for each output in this scenario. But this does not mean that proper colour management is no longer critical. Most of the time, the truthfulness and credibility of the colour are enough, although, as we shall see, we have gone beyond that too.

It’s the image, baby.

Today everything is an image, and we are the biggest producers and consumers of these images. On a smartphone, a “personal hub for collecting and sharing information,” as Paolo Tedeschi, Corporate Communication & Marketing Services Senior Manager at Canon Italia, calls it, most of the data are photos and videos and our main online activity is almost entirely based on interaction with them. Social networks have had to invent timed stories, which expire and delete themselves, to get around the amount of data they have to store on their servers, which we produce, share and consume, forgetting them immediately. The image is language, easy, immediate and accessible to all, and therefore increasingly popular. Today’s camera on a mobile phone is comparable to that of a professional camera. Apple’s iPhone 13 page is no longer that of a phone but, to all intents and purposes, a camera: it talks about macro, night shots, stabilisation, wide-angle and zoom. The aper-

ture is now as wide as 1.5 f, like a high-end lens, and it shoots at 12 MP. So much so that photographer Karl Taylor had fun photographing a Harley Davidson in the studio with an iPhone and a $33,000 Hasselblad H6, demonstrating how, in the same light, the result is now absolutely comparable. (hasselbladiphoneshootout.jpg) Borderline challenges, such as Austin Mann’s documentary in Tanzania, shot entirely with the new iPhone, show that we’re already beyond the realm of consumer photography. For XY, “smartphones have replaced cameras, but they are increasingly identified by megapixels, not by colour capacity and how they save files. That’s where the bottleneck is. If the file doesn’t have a wide gamut, you can’t expect peripherals to invent colours!” As Tedeschi suggests, “the image is a fundamental element of everyone’s life. Different technologies are adapted to different contexts. From indoor portraits to landscapes in extreme weather conditions, from the trackside of a car race to family holidays, the requirements for flexibility, connectivity, weight and durability of the equipment used change a lot. We produce, share and store dozens of images every day, entrusting devices of all kinds with our memories, our stories or simply the beauty of a moment. It is a universal language accessible to all and therefore increasingly popular. However, there is a substantial difference between professional images and those in more common use. This difference is becoming increasingly clear and recognisable.” In short, a typewriter is not enough to make a good writer.

If the number of photos tends to infinity, the value of a photo tends to zero

The inflation of images inundating us has also changed our taste: we look at them in passing, we swipe and scroll quickly; Instagram doesn’t even allow zooming, and the advance of photos in Facebook news lasts only a few seconds. So to be seen - I don’t mean looked at - photos have to be as impressive as possible; they have to catch the eye in an instant to click. And so our perception of colour has also changed. And this also has an impact on how we look at, evaluate and correct a photo. Nowadays, when you shoot with a smartphone, it automatically activates what is known as HDR (High Dynamic Range), which seeks to improve image quality in all lighting conditions. Basically, the camera captures several images of the scene with different exposures, then the AI in the software combines them to create a photo that is perfectly exposed in both the bright and dark areas in a credible way. That’s how you get those perfect backlit or dark photos without the flash or even dreamy sunrises and sunsets. The problem is that this processing is done all the time, not just when you need it. This is how we got used to strongly contrasted and saturated colours. Olivotto says, “If I have to look at the photos of the hotel I’m booking on Booking, that’s fine, and the accuracy of the reproduction isn’t that important, but it is if I’m post-producing for print”. “Our perception of the image has changed,” Zucchelli points out, “because our visual culture has changed. We see this when we go out to buy a new monitor, and we are attracted by a vividness of images that does not exist in reality, let alone be reproducible in print”. An example? The Eizo CG2730 monitor for photo editing is matte and has a maximum brightness of 350 NITs, compared to 500 NITs for the iMac 27 or 1000 NITs for Apple’s top-of-therange ProDisplay XDR. Of course, the images look great, but how real are they? And how well will a correct image be printed on these monitors? Not to mention the glossy finish of the screens. For Biraghi from Epson, “There are now affordable monitors with the Adobe RGB specification and not sRGB, which are more suitable for correct viewing, but still need to be calibrated (i.e. put into a known state) and profiled. Only at this point do programmes that know how to manage colour reproduce colours most accurately”.

Sounds easy, but...

If an image has a value close to zero, as Olivotto says, “we agree (wrongly!) to look at it even in sub-optimal conditions. In any case, if the reference remains the printed image (and in my opinion, this should be the case), there is no doubt that our monitors tend to be brighter and more ‘lively’ than they should be”. This certainly alters perception and has “a major negative impact. Digital photography is perceived as simple precisely because the technology offers very sophisticated functions to more or less anyone. In reality, it is not simple at all, especially if we need to exercise control over what we do. There is nothing wrong, of course, with giving people the ability to make good images, perhaps with the help of artificial intelligence that is becoming more and more amazing. But this tends to hide the process, which should be clear at least in its main lines”. An illusion of ease that also comes from access to photo-editing software. Olivotto continues, “It’s easy to destroy an image without realising it. The photographer’s approach is often ‘I make changes until I’m satisfied’, while the retoucher’s approach should be more scientific and rigorous. A few years ago, a photographer asked me for advice: he had post-produced some nature photos, but they had produced disastrous prints. To do this, he had used a well-known colour-enhancing plug-in in Photoshop. The photos looked great on the monitor, but when converted to CMYK, they looked terrible. The reason for the bad result was the way the plug-in manipulated the RGB channels. Control over the final result must come from an understanding of the mechanisms that lead to that result, and many RAW development modules, in particular, do not always operate in such a transparent manner”. There are many solutions for image correction nowadays, and lots of open-source software is very close to commercial solutions, such as Claro by Elpical. However, even using very powerful software to modify our digital shots does not turn us ipso facto into professionals, and the risk of losing important information is very high if we simply rely on video rendering. And yet, Tedeschi points out, “Even the general public has learned to recognise this distinction. The perfect shot, in fact, requires very few retouches and offers reality in a much more natural way, offering emotions to the viewer. There is, however, a substantial difference between the professional image and the more commonly used one. That is why I think we are seeing a great deal of specialisation among those who work with images”.

Towards the hybrid workflow

Part of this boundless photographic production ends up being used for professional purposes. And while we are inclined to be indulgent towards digital, print remains the special target. Olivotto says, “Emotional post-production based on a single click on an Instagram filter may be interesting at first, but it loses its appeal especially when out of a billion photographs, several million have the same type of filter applied”. While it is true that aligning the profiles of all the devices that will use an image, whether in production or in delivery, is impossible, it is certainly possible to control the process, especially from a multichannel perspective. It is not a question of resuming the age-old dilemma of applying profiles and conversions upstream or doing it downstream before the final output. Even in the days of Fraser, the first approach was not recommended: while on the one hand, it gives the illusion of having everything under control, on the other, it is limiting. If I convert a photo intended for printing to four colours before post-producing it to have the exact range of reproducible colours (filtered by the monitor, though), I will still have to go back to RGB to be able to use Photoshop tools and filters that are otherwise unavailable and to use those photos digitally. So it is better to post-produce in RGB, creating a sort of digital master from which to start

for each envisaged channel and proceed with the conversion to CMYK only when really necessary - in other words, when the photo begins its process to be printed. And this applies all the more to profiles. There is no point in using Fogra51 for offset printing on glossy paper if I do not yet know the printing technology and perhaps not even the paper. On the Fogra website alone, there are 21 different profiles for 21 different uses. The image must be considered as part of an overall process in which not all outputs are known and may differ considerably, so you have to be as conservative as possible - never lose information: start with a correct basic version and then work your way up to a flow that, yes, must be fully controlled. In this way, profiling is not a utopia. The mistake for Biraghi is “not asking the question: what should I do with this shot? There’s no point in processing beautiful colours on the monitor that won’t be printable. Colour is emotion as long as ‘I manage it myself’, but it has well-defined rules if it is going to be shared. In addition, Zucchelli suggests, “We need to check incoming material with colour proofs before inserting it in our production cycle and, if the image is meant for printing, activate the display in colour proof mode (simulating CMYK) to reduce the colour space or, alternatively, convert the image to four-colour process”. And, we add, use professional monitors, calibrated periodically. For Canon, “To optimise the flow of image creation and reproduction, it is important to take into account the capture technology used and the printing technologies with which it will be reproduced, depending on the media selected. Even for a print that is going to be exhibited, the lighting and the wall’s colour will influence the image’s perception”.

Film it blurry and out of focus*

* Orson Welles So let’s try to govern the phenomenon: what are the tricks to understand if a photo is proper and correct? Olivotto helps us: “I would say that a photo is ‘right’ if it has a correct exposure in the range of brightnesses relevant to the photo itself, if the white balance is sensible, if the contrast appears natural. It must be said that the white balance when shooting in RAW is not very relevant, but if we assume that we are starting from a raster image, already developed, it becomes crucial. A photo is “correct” if the points of shadow and light are set correctly, maximising the dynamic range, and there are no dominants. All this, in most cases, can be done with a single curve or with adjustments to the development modules that essentially emulate the behaviour of the curves”. And as Zucchelli suggests, it is best “to get used to interpreting the histograms that highlight the tonal range of an image. If after a correction the levels are reduced, we have probably lost some information and the photo will look “torn”, as in the case of an overexposed photo in which the photographer has lost all the light areas”. And the mistakes to avoid? According to Olivotto, “it is not a good idea to saturate colours unnaturally, as is often seen in landscape photographs, especially on social networks. Also to be avoided are interventions leading to the loss of precious and unrecoverable information, such as noise reduction: today’s sensors allow us to obtain much less noisy photographs than a few years ago, but we still tend to exaggerate with luminance noise reduction. The result is that images appear unnaturally smooth and lacking in micro-detail. Finally, don’t close the shadows or burn out the highlights, except in areas where this is unavoidable: once a channel has clipped and is devoid of information, there’s nothing you can do.

Canon has developed a free RAW processing and editing software to support photographers using their technology, Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP), which can manage the image stream in an advanced but straightforward way. As Paolo Tedeschi of Canon Italy explains, “DPP is the RAW processor with support for Canon features such as Photo Style, Auto Lighting Optimizer and Lens Aberration Correction”. This is probably most evident when shooting RAW with Monochrome Photo Style: “In this case, the correlation between the software and Canon’s image format is more precise and allows a complete understanding of the image settings, including custom white balance, advanced noise reduction and other settings. It’s crucial that we support professionals and enthusiasts every step of the way regarding image care and management, so we continuously work to meet every need - from capture to print, through the entire file management cycle. This approach is an integral part of our research and development strategy, in which we invest around 8% of our global turnover each year, to ensure that we always bring the best imaging technologies to the market.

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CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN PRINTING AT BRAND REVOLUTION LAB 2021

A neutral and open territory where the skills of all players, brands, creative agencies, printers and suppliers of printing technologies and materials merge and mix to give life to a co-creation experience with outstanding final results, augmented, enriched by pieces of expertise coming from different worlds. This is Brand Revolution LAB, which has just successfully concluded its fifth edition and confirmed its status as a reference point and inspiration for those who want to express their brand identity by printing. On 21 and 22 October, the projects developed during 2021 were presented in Studio Novanta - East End Studios in Via Mecenate in Milan. The previous edition projects, shown on OnAir between November and December 2020, were also on display due to the health emergency. There were 20 brands involved: E. Marinella, 3M, Quercetti, Podere l’Agave, VeraLab, Oasyhotel, GustOsa, Acetomodena, Alpro di Danone, Agribirrificio Altavia, Atkinsons, Ospedale dei Bambini di Milano Vittore Buzzi, Curaprox, Eni gas e luce, Ferro 13, Rapinzeri, Mare Aperto, Mediterranea Saving Humans, VIP Val Venosta and Terranova Instruments.

Themes and trends of the projects for experimentation also accompanied online.

The printed communication on show at Brand Revolution LAB is expressly visual, made up of total, but not static, sensoriality. The projects on display are accompanied by the digital component both in printing and personalisation with variable data and augmented reality to bring an exciting customer experience. Analogue and digital coexist in the world of communication, overlapping and interacting to print documents and packaging that are personalised in terms of both text and graphics, without ever sacrificing the sustainability and quality of the more classic finishing. From the multi-sensory in-store experience to packaging that breaks and rewrites its own codes, from brand identity identified through very different substrates and applications to packaging made-to-measure for Instagram, right up to the extreme versioning and customisation of digital printing: all the projects on show aim to express the essence of the brand and establish a direct and engaging dialogue with customers.

A new immersive layout and Touch & Talk area

This year, a significant new development was spreading the event over two days, making it possible to reach a wider audience with a completely new, immersive and fantastic set-up concept entitled Random Combination. In addition to seeing the projects on display, the public could meet the partners of Brand Revolution LAB in the “Touch” area, chatting, exploring the projects car-

ried out and touching with their own hands examples of printing, communication solutions and innovative materials that they have also experimented on other occasions and with their own clients. On the morning of 22 October, a talk session was held to examine in depth some aspects of the projects carried out in 2021 that explored more generally the key themes of Brand Revolution LAB.

The partners of Brand Revolution LAB who collaborated on the various projects are the suppliers of technology and materials: Gruppo Cordenons, Konica Minolta, Luxoro and HP. Gruppo Cordenons provided its innovative creative papers. HP and Konica Minolta supplied digital printing technologies for various applications, from packaging to large format, from labels to textiles. Luxoro and MGI allowed visitors to test the boundaries of finishing, both with hot foil and digital printing, while genARate opened the field to augmented reality for an integrated communication experience between online and offline. Printers also played a leading role, offering their expertise with a wide range of solutions. They are: Grafical, Ba.ia, Ciemme, TicTac Stampa, Eurolabel, Gruppo Masserdotti, Dominodisplay, Tech:art, O-I, Nava Press, Rifa Etichette, ICO, Lazzati Industria Grafica, Graf Color, L’Artegrafica, Gold & Silver, System Graphic, Goglio, ACM, La Commerciale Borgogno, PressUP, Tecno Tag and Kamaleon. The agencies specialising in branding that worked on the design of the project proposals, which were produced with the collaboration of the technological and printing partners, are: Creostudios, DLVBBDO, Hello DTV, Ideology, Lateral, The Embassy, O, Nice! Design, The 6th, ArteficeGroup, Coo’ee Italia, Angelini Design and Conversion E3.

For further details go to: www.brandrevolutionlab.it For information and to take part in the 2022 edition of Brand Revolution LAB: brl@strategogroup.net

Here are the details of all the projects produced in 2021 https://www.brandrevolutionlab. it/i-progetti/brl-2021/ Here is the complete list of the talks broadcast live from Studio Novanta https://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list=PLoUOxItbl7wnjNUno31PERBL9ZwWsF26c

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ACNE SPECIAL BOOK 2021: A SUMPTUOUS ARCHIVE BOOK PRINTED BY NAVA PRESS INAUGURATES THE MAGAZINE’S NEW DIRECTION

It is a collectors’ gem bound with a Dutch cover and provided with a slipcase, all produced by Nava Press. Acne Paper Book 2021 collects a selection from the bimonthly magazine that, between 2005 and 2014, published contributions from top-level authors exploring photography, art, literature and journalism, and was appreciated for its elegant creative direction and high cultural value. The selection is accompanied by previously unpublished essays by Sarah Mower, Vince Aletti, Robin Muir and Bjørn Hansteen-Fossum written specifically for this sumptuous 568-page edition. The book includes the work of legendary photographers such as David Bailey, Saul Leiter, Sarah Moon, Snowdon, Irving Penn and Paolo Roversi, as well as contributions from younger generations such as Roe Ethridge, Jamie Hawkesworth, Julia Hetta, Viviane Sassen and Sølve Sundsbø, to name but a few. Under the editorial curatorship of Thomas Persson, editor-in-chief and creative director of Acne Paper, the book also features interviews with and contributions from book authors Azzedine Alaïa, Isabelle Huppert, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Kim Jones, David Lynch, Malcolm McLaren, Arthur Mitchell, Glenn O’Brien, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Tilda Swinton and Gillian Wearing. For the cover and opening portfolio Christopher Smith, known for his self-portraits, gave his artistic interpretation of Acne Paper and its fifteen themes. The book closes a cycle and inaugurates a new course for the magazine, which has resumed publication after a 7-year absence.

What ACNE SPECIAL BOOK 2021 looks like

The book has a Dutch cover made of 360 gsm Free Life Cento paper printed in 5 colours with protective varnish, die-cut and glued. The endpapers are folded from 170gsm Colorplan Forest Green unprinted. The 568-page interior is printed on 90gsm Lenza Top Recycling 100% recycled paper, printed in 4 colours with protective varnish. Bound in stitched thread with a Dutch cover with a round spine and white capitals. The book’s slipcase is made of 3 mm cardboard, with a sleeve of usomano paper covered and lined with 135 gsm Colorplan Forest Green paper, printed in 1 colour white hot foil with the logo on the front and back. Book extraction from the lefthand side of the slipcase. Printed in 4510 copies.