We loved printing these inspired business cards for the property maintenance company Zanzi. Designed by Led By Design, the first thing you notice is that the vintage style and paper compliments both the message and the letterpress process perfectly. Being a fellow woodworking enthusiast, I super dooper love everything about these cards!
The business cards are letterpress printed on Ball and Doggett's 442gsm Enviro Boxboard. Boxboard is the unsung hero of the printing industry. Pretty much everyone has interacted with it at some stage but would not have noticed. Boxboard is primarily used by printers and binders to create strength and support not to look pretty. For example, note books, desk pads or docket book backs are often made from boxboard so that you have a firm surface to support the book block when writing. Boxboard is also used for hardcover book covers but hidden beneath layers of printed sheets and end papers that encase the board.
A new generation of designers are seeing boxboard aka strawboard in a different light. It has a lovely recycled earthy aesthetic, it is manufactured here in Australia, is 100% recycled, has ISO 14001 certification, is cheap and bulky and works really well for letterpress printing.
When designing for boxboard it is important to note that as the paper stock is greyish brown and will effect the outcome of selected ink colours. This is because all printing ink is translucent and the colour of the paper effects the end colour result.
There are exceptions to the rule, metallic inks like silver and gold are relatively opaque and will mask the colour of the paper. With the Zanzi business cards, instead of printing with a stock standard Pantone Black we used Black 7. Pantone Black 7 is a mix of 80% black and 20% silver inks. The silver component helped to block out the colour of the paper. Not entirely of course but it did minimise the translucent quality of ink.