Roundup: 16 Standout Newspapers From 2016

We're kicking off the New Year with a roundup of some standout newspapers we printed in 2016.

These 16 newspapers run the gamut from clever portfolios to eye-catching catalogues to a publication that answers all your burning question about eyeballs (and features a giant squid eyeball printed at life-size). If you're thinking of putting something into newsprint next year, there's plenty to be inspired by below.

But first, we want to say a big thank you to everyone who printed with us and kept our presses so busy this year. We're really excited help put more interesting, thoughtful and unexpected publications into the world in 2017.

Refinery29 Design 2017 calendar by Isabel Catillo Guijarro and Elliot Salazar

Digital broadsheet printed on 55gsm newsprint

WhenIsabel Castillo Guijarro andElliot Salazar, both designers at lifestyle publisher Refinery29, found out there wouldn't be a company calendar this year, they took matters into their own hands. Repurposing unpublished work from their fellow designers, they turned a broadsheet newspaper into special R29 Design calendar – each month also doubling as a pull-out poster. It's not for sale (sorry!) but you can keep up with the team at @r29design for a chance to win one.

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Vans First Layer by Vans Snow Team and Matt Georges

Traditional tabloid printed on 55gsm improved newsprint

For this stunning photography publication, Matt Georges followed the Vans Snow Team on their quest for the best snow in Japan – from Hokkaido Island to the streets of Honshu. We love the juxtaposition of calm, wintry scenes with fearless feats of snowboarding. You can pick up the newspaper (for free!) in Vans stores across Europe.

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Studio Nugno portfolio by Studio Nugno

Digital tabloid printed on 55gsm newsprint

Dublin-based Studio Nugno is Eleanora Bigi and Luca Amoriello – two designers with a knack for brand identity. Their fresh portfolio design was one of our favourites this year. It's a friendly introduction to their work, using bold typography and simple colours to showcase wide-ranging projects.

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Washed Out Colouring Zine by Jamie Kirk

Digital tabloid printed on 55gsm newsprint

To support Mental Health Awareness Week, illustrator Jamie Kirk created Washed Out, a zine designed to be coloured in while encouraging readers to “explore creativity and eliminate stress.” Kirk joined forces with contributors from around the world, including French illustrator Jean Jullien, Spanish illustrators Brosmind and Portland-based artist Sam Larson.

Kirk is selling Washed Out through The Newsagent with proceeds going to mental health charities.

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At Twilight by Simon Starling (published by Dent De Leone and designed by Åbäke)

Traditional tabloid printed on 52gsm recycled newsprint

This year, Turner Prize-winning artist Simon Starling reimagined W.B. Yeats's At the Hawk's Well, a 1916 play inspired by Japanese masked drama. At Twilight is a two-part publication (hard-bound book and tabloid newspaper) documenting the multimedia project, first performed at The Common Guild in Glasgow. The newspaper catalogues newly created masks and costumes from the performance, part of the exhibition Simon Starling: At Twilight (After W. B. Yeats’ Noh Reincarnation), currently on display at Japan Society in New York City.

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Secret 7" 2016 program by Secret 7"

Traditional mini printed on 55gsm improved newsprint

Once again we were thrilled to sponsor the Secret 7" project, which invites creatives to produce one-of-a-kind record sleeves for a good cause. This year's sleeves, designed by the likes of Jenny Holzer and Anish Kapoor, were exhibited at Sonos Studios in London in April and then auctioned anonymously – raising more than £42,000 for Amnesty International UK.

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Richmond Ballet Season 2016-17 by Richmond Ballet (designed by Karnes Coffey)

Traditional tabloid printed on 70gsm bright newsprint

Richmond Ballet partnered with local mural artists to create original imagery for the six productions they're staging during the 2016-17 season. The artwork makes for a stunning series of double-page spreads in their newsprint programme. "Newspaper Club allowed us to achieve the triple threat of impact, approachability and cost-consciousness,"designer Christine Coffey told us. "The colours are incredible and the quality was beyond our expectations."

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Naomi Harris portfolio by Naomi Harris and Noah Phillips

Traditional tabloid printed on 52gsm recycled newsprint

Photographer Naomi Harris teamed up with designer Noah Phillips to create a considered and playful newsprint portfolio. Every page is a delight, but we especially love the above image of Abel Nabor Campos, known as "the lucha-doughnut man of East LA", who Harris shot for Lucky Peach. Read Harris and Phillips in conversation about the newspaper and see a few more clever spreads.

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Zendesk rebrand broadsheet by Zendesk

Traditional broadsheet printed on 52gsm recycled newsprint

Zendesk launched a rebrand in November and printed a broadsheet to showcase their new visual language in a large format. Hungarian artist Anna Kövecses (we're huge fans!) created the bold, playful illustrations throughout the publication – we've hung the gorgeous back page poster up in our Glasgow office.

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Serena by Nicholas Laham

Traditional tabloid printed on 52gsm recycled newsprint

Brooklyn-based sports photographer Nicholas Laham serves up intimate and energetic portraits of Serena Williams in this large-format visual diary. It's a staff favourite and great to flip through for a midday motivation boost.

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Year in Refuse by Alex Westgate

Digital tabloid printed on 55gsm newsprint

An anti-portfolio of sorts, Year in Refuse is filled with illustrator Alex Westgate's rejected work – ideas "too weird, unsettling and otherwise unpublishable" to go anywhere else. Proof that one person's trash is another's Newspaper of the Month, Westgate's left field publication is one of our favourite illustration newspapers of the year.

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Martin Parr: The Rhubarb Triangle Zine by the Hepworth Wakefield (designed by The Common Room)

Traditional tabloid printed on 52gsm recycled newsprint

The Rhubarb Triangle is a nine-square-mile area in West Yorkshire known for growing forced rhubarb – a laborious process that involves picking the vegetable by candlelight. This rarely-seen industry was the subject of a new series by Martin Parr, commissioned by the Hepworth Wakefield and included in their retrospective exhibition of more than 200 of Parr’s images, The Rhubarb Triangle & Other Stories.

Alongside the show, the Hepworth Wakefield published this zine featuring 27 full-colour images from the series – a fascinating look into the esoteric culture of rhubarb.

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Christopher Ræburn S/S 17 Lookbook by Christopher Ræburn

Traditional tabloid printed on 70gsm improved newsprint

British fashion designer Christopher Ræburn is known for his inventive use of materials and collaborations with brands from Fred Perry to Barbour. In this gorgeous catalogue he showcases his latest collection, LAUNCH – an homage to "the vision of a dystopian future" portrayed in George Lucas's THX 1138. .

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The Eye of the Beholder by Johanne Lian Olsen

Digital tabloid printed on 55gsm newsprint

“We all have those moments where we think ‘Man, I wish I knew more about eyeballs’, right?” asks Copenhagen-based designer Johanne Lian Olsen. With stunning attention to detail, Olsen presents life-size illustrations of 25 diverse eyeballs in her study of the range of colours and shapes that distinguish, for example, a rattlesnake’s eyeball from a polar bear’s. Plus, there's a page-filling 1:1 illustration of the giant squid eyeball – a whopping 250mm.

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Woza by Gqom Oh! and Crudo Volta

Traditional mini printed on 55gsm improved newsprint

Woza Taxi, which premiered on The FADER in July, follows director Tommaso Cassinis and label head Nan Kolè to meet the artists behind gqom, an electronic dance movement born in the townships outside Durban. Alongside the film release, Gqom Oh! and Crudo Volta produced a 32-page mini newspaper to showcase the best photographs from the trip. It’s a beautiful publication filled with raw, poignant images – a rare look behind the scenes of an emerging music culture.

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New Year mailer by Bogsch & Bacco

Traditional broadsheet printed on 45gsm salmon newsprint

We introduced salmon newsprint in November and designers Bogsch & Bacco made fantastic use of the new format with this end-of-year mailer. "For seasons greetings, we like to be a little crazy and insert some humour to offset the traditional messages," they told us. In this case, it's a brilliantly unexpected fold-out mermaid poster.

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Want to make a newspaper in 2017?

Get started with our free samples, packed with print tips to get the most out of your newspaper.