Print Roundup: April

April is always a busy time for us at Newspaper Club. This year, things were whizzing off to press so briskly that we're only now wrapping our heads around our monthly roundup. Happily, this eclectic batch of projects (posters! photography! a colouring book!) is worth the wait. So without further ado, here's a look at some newspapers we printed in April:

AKA Coffee

Digital tabloid printed on 55gsm improved newsprint

"What goes better with your morning cup than a great newspaper?" asks Oakland-based coffee roaster AKA Coffee, who use a tabloid to introduce wholesale customers to their company. For extra impact, they turned the centre spread of their newspaper into a bright fold-out poster. (Design by Welcome)

The Routes We Thread

Traditional tabloid printed on 52gsm recycled newsprint

As part of The Routes We Thread exhibition, Many Studios published a newspaper of work from artists Arpita Shah and Paria Goodarzi. Made in collaboration with Scottish women from diverse backgrounds, the project uses photography and embroidery to explore "the complex layers of identity...and personal threads we carry around with us."

Ye Ji Jeon's Imaginative Coloring Book

Digital tabloid printed on 90gsm bright paper

Newspapers are great for doodling on, and we can't get enough of these charming designs from Ye Ji Jeon. "Colouring can give people a moment to pause in their life," says the California-based illustrator." It provides a source of meditation or relaxation." At 6 pages long, this colouring book would make for a perfect lunch break escape.

Improper Slope

Traditional mini printed on 70gsm bright paper

We're seeing more and more newsprint photobooks, but this zine from photographer Rich Gilligan really stood out for its atmosphere. Produced in association with Carhartt WIP, Improper Slope documents the preparations for sculptor and skater Max Palmer's first exhibition.

Gilligan says of the zine: "We didn't want it to feel too polished. At the same time, we wanted the work shine through in a hands-on, tactile way. We all couldn't be happier with the end result."

The Improper Slope exhibition opened 4 May in NYC. All 300 copies of the zine are hand-signed by Gilligan and Palmer – available from Palomino.

SND Type Specimen

Traditional tabloid and traditional broadsheet printed on 52gsm recycled newsprint

All the type that's fit to print. We love that Commercial Type referenced classic newspaper layouts with this new two-part type specimen, designed by Jack Curry. Printed for the Society for News Design conference in Charlotte, NC last month, it shows off the latest additions to their library plus some upcoming releases. Grab a copy for free from the Commercial Type shop (just pay shipping).

Guarana

Digital tabloid printed on 90gsm bright paper

From creative agency Atelier Césure, a Brazilian fairytale illustrated by French artist Camille de Cussac. Guarana comes to life though Cussac's bright and expressive drawing style and the colours really pop on 90gsm paper.

L'Atelier

Traditional mini printed on 55gsm improved newsprint

L’Atelier is the official journal of the Faculty of Architecture at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. Students, academics and other thinkers use the space to investigate arts, literature and, of course, architecture.

A new issue comes out every semester, with a different theme each time. For the 13th edition of L’Atelier, 10 students from different years responded to the theme of "offset" – a word we're admittedly partial to.

John Phillip Sage portfolio

Digital tabloid printed on 55gsm improved

Newspapers are a quick, affordable way to share your work. Designer John Phillip Sage chose 4 of his best projects to showcase in this tabloid portfolio, which he sent to his favourite studios in London. "It's been a very effective way of presenting my work and standing out from other applications," he told us. "I've had many replies and I'm having interviews in the next few weeks." Good luck!

Tuck Frump

Digital broadsheet printed on 55gsm improved newsprint

New York-based Playlab Inc. describe this double-sided newsprint poster simply as "a reminder." You can order a copy from their online shop – proceeds support the ACLU.

Stephen Hawking

Digital broadsheet printed on 55gsm improved

Simple, bold illustrations like these, by ECAL students Augustin Patry and Michael Casares, look amazing blown up on a broadsheet. (And our biggest format is available in the smallest quantity: print runs start at one copy!)

Oakland Beers

Traditional tabloid printed on 70gsm improved

Photographer Steve Babuljak documents "a drinking team with a baseball problem" in his newsprint photozine Oakland Beers.  He chose newsprint to keep the project a "loose and gritty with a yesteryear feel to it." Babuljak, whose commercial clients include Chevron and McGraw Hill, says personal projects like Oakland Beers are an opportunity "to really work out [my] style and ideas without any constraints." Shout out to illustrator Leo Zarosinski for that home run of a cover.

Project Positivity

Digital tabloid printed on 55gsm improved

Rounding out our roundup with this lovely project from first year BA Graphic Design students at Edinburgh Napier University. They created a "global library of goodwill" by printing a series of newspapers, each one highlighting uplifting news from a different country, from Argentina to Malaysia to Greece.

"We wanted to shatter the belief that only bad news sells," says student Andrew Mcalinney, who focused his newspaper (pictured above) on Mexico. "With it being exam time, students really gravitated to the exhibition and many said they left with a more optimistic outlook on their day."

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