The 132-page monograph Opportunity Process Wellness, designed by Studio Lowrie for London-based architecture studio WG+P (Waind Gohil + Potter Architects), spotlights the key projects and research the practice has undertaken in its first fifteen years. Printed digitally, the book delicately combines images of fully realised projects with work-in-progress sketches. Designer Callin Mackintosh developed four different covers for the publication, each featuring one of WG+P’s favourite projects. These were tested on a range of different stocks before settling on Fedrigoni.
The ability to proof so accurately in the pre-production stage enabled Studio Lowrie to be more adventurous in their design, which included the use of a green fluorescent ink throughout. Such a benefit was not lost on Studio Lowrie’s creative director Mike White, who says: ‘Printing digital tests and seeing the fluoro colours in their exact finish before printing the entire book is an incredibly useful benefit of printing with HP Indigo.’
The studio has often used digital printing for posters and smaller promotional items, says White, but this was the first time they had used HP Indigo printing for a publication. ‘We had spoken to Pureprint who had recommended printing digitally. It was more economical and meant we could print fewer books. During the process, they also provided us with the fluoro test samples, which looked amazing and the client loved our suggestion to use the green throughout the book.’
In addition to testing experimental finishes, digital printing also helped Studio Lowrie negotiate and respond to the production concerns of their clients in real time: ‘We used the digital printing process to reassure WG+P of a smaller run, around 50, but as they grew more confident in our creation, they increased the order.’