This article first appeared in the September issue of Australian Printer

Southern Impact was engaged by the team at Ball & Doggett in mid-2021 to produce a cookbook. However, this was no ordinary cookbook, rather a beautiful collaboration between their industry supply partners; bringing people, their families and colleagues together in the name of delicious food and recipes.

This inspiring, premium cookbook was designed for all to enjoy – long beyond the pandemic. Recipes from Ball & Doggett colleagues were compiled in this project to warm the hearts of families at a time where the country was dealing with a health pandemic.

“The concept for the project was to create memories at home, deliver a good tactile feel, and be a keepsake booklet for people to have for years to come,” Southern Impact sales director Heath Nankervis said.

“The team at Southern Impact worked closely with Ball & Doggett testing different substrates, unique print methods (digital and offset print) and making sure the overall look and feel matched the quality this book deserved.

“Engaging our staff throughout this process was also key. From seamless press checks between Ball & Doggett’s Zaidee Jackson and our press operators, through to the communication with our bindery and fulfillment team to pack and distribute Australia wide – it was a team effort.

“Southern Impact was proud to be asked by Ball & Doggett to engage in this special book. The importance of strong supplier/manufacturer relationships is vital in reaching successful outcomes that can be enjoyed by all.”

Southern Impact used its Heidelberg XL106 10-colour press for most of the printing of this project and its HP Indigo 7800 for the Curious Translucent tip-in, which was printed in white only.

“We chose our Heidelberg XL106 press as it’s a five-over-five perfecting press running at 16,000 sheets an hour. The job was printed on CMYK plus sealer, so this press configuration was perfectly suited for this job,” Nankervis said.

“The digital component was printed on our HP Indigo 7800. This is a SRA3 press that can print CMYK plus white plus indichrome. This press can print on highly specialised stocks including the translucent stock seen in the cookbook.”

Southern Impact has owned both presses for a little under 10 years, with the business having just purchased a replacement for the Heidelberg to arrive in March 2023.

Other major machinery used to produce this cookbook were Southern Impact’s Stahl folders, which can also fold 16pp sections at 16,000 sheets an hour, and its Muller Martini PUR binder. The company also forme cut the seed boxes on its Horizon Rotary Diecutter.

As for stock, it used Curious Matter Goya White 270gsm for the cover and Curious Translucent 112gsm for the tip-in. Curious Skin Extra White 135gsm, Rives Tradition Bright White 120gsm and Conqueror Wove Diamond White 120gsm were used for the other pages. All stock was from Arjowiggins Creative Papers, exclusively available through Ball & Doggett.

“From a stock perspective we discussed our specification in detail. We decided on running test prints on the five selected grades, ensuring the stock supported our look and feel was pertinent to the desired result,” Ball & Doggett national business development manager of sustainable packaging Zaidee Jackson said.

“In particular, we ran print tests on our Rives Tradition Bright White 120gsm and Rives Design Bright White 120gsm. Given the tactility of the sheets, we were in a prime position to choose the best stock for the project, and in particular to elevate the images and work cohesively with our design layout.”

According to Nankervis, Southern Impact worked through some challenges in the prepress process of this project.

“Given the filters applied to the images, as well as resolution and allowances for various stocks, prepress was a critical part of the process. A few elements were highlighted by our skilled team to correct image quality and enhance the resolution with some images. Ball & Doggett even recreated a recipe to ensure we achieved the right resolution for output,” he mentioned.

“Given the various shades of stocks and tactility within the book, the customer needed to be flexible and open to tweaks. Considerations for the filters on images were made to create a mutual look and feel throughout the cookbook, along with the layout and typesetting.

“Pleasingly, the result exceeded our expectations of the initial brief. A brief that is this design-led and tactile really comes to life in the final product – particularly when combined with custom shippers, stickers and wraps.”

Nankervis said receiving gold for this project at the National Print Awards recognises the craft that is print and the quality produced by Southern Impact’s team.

“At Southern Impact we aim to work collaboratively with our customers and always aim to exceed expectations. We are happy when our customer is happy and, in this instance, our customer was also a major supplier,” Nankervis added.

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