Monadnock Paper Mills
Renowned high-end Dutch fashion label PAUW was founded five decades ago. Today, the company owns 30 stores in the Netherlands. Its women’s and menswear collections are available internationally in luxury retail boutiques in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Milan, London and Tokyo.
The PAUW label has earned a reputation for collections with a clear, consistently elegant style. PAUW is loved for its passion for excellence, carefully selected natural fabrics and textiles and beautiful signature details.
Madeleine Pauw, the daughter of the founders of the company, is the leading fashion designer and responsible for the overall look and feel of the brand. With her strong vision and sense for style, she has been instrumental in establishing the consistency and authenticity of the PAUW brand.
Innovation, quality, love for varieties of elegantly tactile textiles and personalized service on the highest level are the core values of this company, which continues to attract a wide clientele that shares PAUW’s passion for sophisticated styling.
Promoting PAUW’s Collections
To promote PAUW’s collections, graphic designer Tessa van der Waals introduced PAUW to Freek Kuin, managing director of Calff & Meischke, Drukkerij, Amsterdam. Ms. van der Waals is well known as a designer of art books and is recognized as one of the leading typographers in Holland.
She first met with Freek Kuin in 1978 and began an impressively consistent history of collaboration. The PAUW collaborations started in 2007 in what has become a regular series of printed promotional materials supporting the launch of PAUW’s major collections.
Selecting Calff & Meischke for the printing was an easy choice. It was Ms. Waals’ intent to create the most elegant promotion possible in order to reflect the elegance and character of the PAUW brand.
Calff & Meischke is a specialist in printing art books and considered to be one of the leading multicolor sheetfed printing companies in the fine art industry in Europe, the United States and the Middle East.
With an impressive portfolio of clients such as the van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Hotel Costes – Paris, Empty Quarter Gallerie – Dubai, Van Zoetendaal Publishers – Amsterdam, and Bill Brandt Institute – London, this intimate company, located in the heart of Amsterdam, is a treasure trove for everyone with a passion for illustrated books, fine print and paper.
For many years, Freek Kuin has been recognized for his print expertise and the quality of his work. Recently, he was invited to teach printing arts and technology in Shenzhen, China, and has lectured about his work at numerous international photo book fairs and design congresses.
Freek Kuin is a former printing techniques teacher at the Rietveld Academie, the Amsterdam Art Academy. This expertise has proven a valuable asset in his work.
Calff & Meischke continuously aims for excellence in print. Kuin says, “The secret behind high-quality work lies in the right combination of three primary elements of any job: the choice of paper, printing technique and finishes.”
C&M works with the best binders in the business from all over Europe, and the company boasts the largest paper archive in the country, with paper collections from all over the world.
How was Astrolite specified?
Once the project was designed, a paper had to be specified. Christiaan Klein Pauw, Madeleine’s son, and Freek Kuin spent days trying to choose the right paper for the luxurious prints.
As Kuin notes, “One Saturday after a tiresome five-hour search in the paper archives, Christiaan discovered a book I had printed on Monadnock Astrolite, Bill Brandt’s Nudes. He instantly fell in love with this paper.”
Monadnock is located in Bennington, New Hampshire, two hours north of Boston, so this collaboration became a series of international, trans-Atlantic projects. Even given these trans-Atlantic logistical challenges, PAUW delightfully observed that no delays have ever occurred as a result of a lack of paper availability in the five years that PAUW has specified Monadnock Astrolite.
For PAUW, hard-copy collateral plays a large role in the launch of every major collection. Rigid boxes are created to contain sheets of printed images of their latest collections. These boxed sheets are assembled in limited editions for distribution to all retail locations. The style of the boxed presentation directly reflects the company’s values and identity: a love for excellence throughout their business.
Over the years, these boxes have become sought after collector’s items. Calff & Meischke has produced six boxes for seasonal collections with large images of the new designs on Monadnock Astrolite 120 lb. Cover smooth. Currently Calff & Meischke is printing nine large cards (14 x 20 cm) on Astrolite to celebrate every new collection.
How does uncoated paper relate to the PAUW business?
PAUW’s clothing is comfortable, refined, elegant and loved for its sensory qualities. As Christiaan Pauw commented, “We are always looking for the right touch and aesthetic, and are very specific about the materials we use throughout all aspects of the company. Astrolite has proven to be and continues to prove to be a great complement to our collections, reflecting two of its core values – luxury and modernity.”
Monadnock Astrolite is an uncoated paper and has a natural tactility that is suited to reflect the finish of many textiles. It is a natural choice that complements the clothing, and given the superior printing capability of Astrolite, image definition is always crisp. Detail is retained. “Coated paper, especially gloss finish, would simply be the wrong choice. It would not complement the collections,” notes Kuin.
How did Astrolite compare to other papers?
By specifying Monadnock Astrolite, one is assured that image resolution will be sharp. Monadnock crafts a level, smooth paper surface that holds the integrity of the ink dot and minimizes dot gain.
Astrolite is a bright white paper, but it is not a blue white. As such, it will not cause images to gray. The 120 lb. (325 GSM) Cover weight is rare for a single-ply sheet in the paper world.
Private businesses focused on environmental stewardship
It should be noted that PAUW, Calff & Meischke and Monadnock are all private businesses that are dedicated to environmental stewardship. PAUW’s sophisticated collections are made with only natural materials that are crafted for exceptional durability and sustainability.
Calff & Meischke is an FSC-certified company and prints on FSC-certified paper. All the printing plates C&M uses are made with chemical-free CTP.
Monadnock Paper Mills is ISO:9001 and ISO:14001 certified in addition to being an FSC-certified company. All Monadnock printing and packaging papers are FSC certified and made carbon neutral (VERs) with 100 percent renewable electrical energy (RECs).
In their search for the story behind the beautiful boxes created for PAUW and this successful trans-Atlantic cooperation, there is another remarkable aspect that deserves mentioning. The relationships between Freek Kuin and Monadnock and between PAUW and Freek Kuin are based on trust – trust as a result of a years’ long relationship and friendship between people and companies sharing essential values: a passion for materials and quality and their own trade.
Technical Notes
Special printing techniques: The large prints (14 x 21 cm) are made of two layers of Astrolite that are glued on a cardboard core in Royal Blue for the desired robust look and feel. In total, 900 GSM!
Press: MAN Roland
Line screen: 200
Number of colors applied: All images are printed in full 4-color process plus skeleton black and a matte waterbased varnish. The skeleton black is printed a day later for the best result. See it as painting your front door at home: One doesn’t set up all layers in one hour’s time.
Top coat: Waterbased varnish off-line and the skeleton black is also off-line.
Ink type: K+E
For further information:
www.calff.nl
www.calffenmeischke.blogspot.com
www.pauw.com
www.mpm.com
To request a Monadnock swatchbook, please email info@mpm.com.
