By Sabine Lenz

Waves softly kiss the golden sand. Turquoise water so clear that you can see the shells beneath the rippling surface. A hammock beckons under a shady tree and not a soul in sight for miles.

Yes, this is the ultimate vacation fantasy.

But we are not selling tropical dreams here. We are talking about an award-winning brochure for a Mexican real estate developer offering land that starts at $3.5 million per lot. And yet, this is not why the piece is so distinctive.

What makes this brochure so special? It's not just about excellent printing - even though the 300-line screen brings an intense clarity to the images. It's not about the textured bamboo cover, the clever wood panel with the engraved name and not even the wonderful photography or clever design.

It's the combination of everything that makes the piece look just right; the perfect blend of concept, detail and obvious care and craftsmanship that went into the production.

Every designer's dream
"From start to final delivery the piece took about 12 months," says Darren Jones, creative director and the creative mind behind the Punta Mita brochure at Sieb Organization in Phoenix, AZ. "Our client did not want to do any advertising. They had a very specific, hand-selected target group in mind. Our client is a very high-end developer, and the piece had to convey the feeling of exclusivity and luxury." For Jones, it was all about texture and open space.

Though 12 months sounds like a long time, there were translations (from Spanish) to be made, photo shoots to be directed and lot sheets and floor plans to be tweaked. In the end, there were only three weeks left for printing and binding.

It takes a great team
"We worked with an amazing team," says Jones. "For Steve Woods Printing and Roswell Bookbinding, this was not just another print job - they want to be a team with you. This brochure was as important to them as it was for us and our client."

While still in the early stages of the concept, Jones came across the then newly released Eames line from Neenah Paper. He wanted to paint a picture of the land and sea in Punta Mita and was looking for the perfect canvas for the photography and images he had in mind. Is it a coincidence that the paper's finish is called "canvas," too?

Many designers cringe at the thought of four-color printing on an uncoated sheet, but after seeing a few printed samples, Jones was completely confident that he had found the right paper to enhance his design.

"We could have provided standard proofs and spent days on press checks to tweak the colors," says Art Webb from Steve Woods Printing in Phoenix. "But with the short turnaround times we were facing, press proofs allowed us to tweak and color correct the images to perfection up front, so that once on press, it was smooth sailing."

No detail is overlooked
Yes, there were allowances made for dot gain, as are always done when printing on uncoated stock, but since all this work was done up front, they were able to meet the tight deadline.

As most high-end printers do, Steve Woods Printing prefers to get the images as "raw" as possible. This allows them to utilize their technology and experience when preparing and color correcting the images, while making adjustments for any dot gain.

"There is no magical color correction system. The only thing magic about it is the people who do the corrections, their skills and experience," says Webb.

Choosing between stochastic and high line screens, the company opted for a 300-line screen, a decision that is made on a case-by-case basis. It involves a close look at the images to decide if they are "worthy" of this art form. "At this screen level, the images have to be perfect," Webb points out. "The tiniest flaw is magnified and becomes very obvious with the higher line screens."

All the bells and whistles
When it comes to full color on uncoated sheets, colors are often enhanced with a bit of fluorescent ink here or a touch of UV ink there. Not in this case. It is simple CMYK, but at an amazing level.

Those bells and whistles were added in the bindery.

Mike Roswell, from Roswell Bookbinding in Phoenix has brought his experience and eye for detail to the piece. "The actual binding is side wire stitched and perfect bound underneath that. But we were very creative in hiding this," he said, smiling. "As unusual as the Punta Mita might be to some, it is a pretty typical product for us."

In the last 40 years, Roswell's team has developed from a typical binding company to a truly creative team of artisans who source unusual cover materials from every corner of the U.S. and overseas. The bamboo cover for this brochure was found in Hawaii.

"We have used this material a number of times and have even colored it with coffee and tea to give it a bit more rustic look before," Roswell adds.

To Create Print Magic, Create a Team 
Designers usually come to the company with only their concept in mind. Roswell takes it from there and brings back ideas, tweaking them along the way. "It usually takes us not more than two-to-three prototypes to get it just perfect," he says.

Even though they try to automate as much as they can in the bindery, their main focus is the integrity of the piece, which more often than not means manual assembly, such as in the Punta Mita brochure.

The wood panel was glued on and the hemp strings were tied by hand for a purely optical function. "Even though we wanted to incorporate the string to give the illusion of a loose bound book, it was important that the binding was really tight," Jones points out. "Mike Roswell and his team combined the various binding techniques, and it worked just perfectly."

Not all of us have the budget to include these intricate workings and materials, but the core message to take away from this example is to find a printer that is on board with you every step of the way.

Create relationships with like-minded souls that share the same passion for their work and for the outcome of your piece as you do. They are not always easy to find, but they are out there.

3/19/08