This article first appeared in the September issue of Australian Printer

Carbon8 is no stranger to the printing industry. Since the business was created in 2007, it has grown to become Australia’s most awarded full-service print house. By utilising a mix of traditional print machinery and techniques with the most modern of digital print equipment, the company has been able to offer unparalleled levels of service and finish.

And this is what was delivered for the Aura by Aqualand project, which won silver in the Digital Printer of the Year category at the 2022 National Print Awards.

Carbon8 co-director Kenneth Beck-Pedersen said, “The client wanted a very distinct and high-end book produced that mirrored the uniqueness of the development it is marketing in Sydney.

“Being a work of art, functional and vibrant are some of the ambitions of the build itself, so we wanted to embody that in our product, as well as create something that excites our clients and their clients. It was a well-deserved winner at the National Print Awards for both its unique bind but also the overall execution that compliments Aqualand’s design.”

All of the printing was done on Carbon8’s HP Indigo 12000, which is a B2-sized press. The cover was also printed on this machine and then celloglazed for maximum protection, before being mounted onto a 3mm board which was ‘v channel’ grooved to allow a modern take on Canadian binding to encase the book.

Carbon8’s in-house bindery section-sewed and bound the book with exposed calico and then glued it into the cover wrap.

The final product also included an additional prototype, which was a clear acrylic slip case produced by Carbon8.

Beck-Pedersen said one of the special requirements from Aqualand was for the book to open as flat as possible to allow the page spreads to function with maximum intent.

“This was a key consideration. A challenge we faced was with the cover wrap, as the ‘v channel’ routed sheet took a few revisions before we landed on the final successful piece. The celloglazed outer layer protected the ink and allowed us to print on the same branded paper used for the internal sheets – which when mounted to the 3mm board became indistinguishable from the thick board,” he said.

“Finding a way to join the section-sewn book block to the cover wrap was also a little tricky. But having all our own bindery and case-making production in-house paid for itself when producing work like this. We found a way to join the calico to the cover wrap, allowing it to flex back 180 degrees but not pull itself out of the attachment point on the cover wrap.

“The book, when finished, must be amongst the most polished pieces we’ve ever had the pleasure to be a part of.”

Beck-Pedersen added that the HP Indigo 12000 allowed Carbon8 to fit the imposed sections required for the binding into the printer.

This digital press also boasts quality and consistency for longer runs, especially for section spreads that traditionally can be tough to manage digitally.

Carbon8 has owned the HP Indigo 12000 since mid-2019 and it recently upgraded the machine with the 15000 Value Pack, which allows for 600um printable medias, includes premium white ink which is significantly denser than before and upgraded inline calibration scanning to speed up production and improve colour registration and consistency. 

“The HP Indigo 12000’s ability to consistently calibrate and remain in colour is definitely a big improvement that HP has delivered with this latest platform,” Beck-Pedersen said.

“We are also very excited to be upgrading the insides of this machine further in the next month or so to the 15000HD version. This HD writing head allows line screens up to 300, which is about a 40 per cent improvement in effective resolution.

“We are convinced that our customers will love the added clarity and sharpness that this will deliver for us. The ability for this in-field upgrade has further justified our significant investments in this series purchased as new from HP.”

Beck-Pedersen also said this accolade, amongst the eight other wins it received at the 2022 National Print Awards, reaffirms its investments over the last three to five years as they have allowed the business to help its clients achieve positive, lasting results in their marketing.

“It shows that we have made the right decisions. Our machines are delivering us increasingly more elaborate, customised and polished solutions for clients as marketing or gifting collateral. And having all this knowledge, capability and machinery in-house allows us to take on almost anything safe in the knowledge that we can deliver work that is unparalleled,” he said.

“We control everything in our own factory and are not held at the mercy of major outsource suppliers, which means we retain and build on skills with every project.”

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