Exeter College
Belmont Press have a long-standing relationship with Exeter College and have successfully produced their flagship course guide for the past three years. In September 2021, Exeter College’s design team presented us with an exciting new project which was to be printed using a different neon colour for each course guide over the next three years, with the theme being 'Your future is bright'.
Neon colours often require two hits, (or passes), to achieve the required colour density and vibrancy. Applying the ink twice creates full ink saturation and avoids any inconsistencies of ink coverage across the printed surface. With this in mind, we chose to produce the School Leavers Course Guide 4pp Covers as a sheet-worked project (i.e. two passes) through our Heidelberg Speedmaster XL75 lithographic press. It was important to the design team that the neon ink on the Covers of the publication appeared luminous and gave a striking visual impact.
The dedicated account manager assigned to Exeter College assessed the remainder of the artwork and assured the college design team one pass of the neon pink would suffice throughout the inner text as it was used minimally within the content copy.
Customer service
This decision meant it was possible to ‘perfect’ the 164pp text which was more cost-effective. ‘Perfecting’ is the process of printing both sides of the sheet at the same time in one pass. Additionally, this decreased the drying time required and reduced the risk of ink set-off when folding the text sections.
Within 10 working days from approval to print, 15,500 copies of the publication were completed and ready for delivery. We facilitated the fulfilment and roll-out mailing of over 6,500 copies for direct distribution to prospective new students. A further bulk delivery went directly to the college, with the remainder entering our temperature-controlled warehouse as finished goods stock. This was to be fulfilled and mailed on request by our dedicated mailing team.
There are unique challenges associated with the application of neon inks. Our expert team are experienced in producing projects with neon colours, ensuring the highest possible intensity, uniformity, and quality is achieved. The design team at Exeter College were delighted with the finished results of the School Leavers Course Guide. The publication successfully delivered the impactful appearance that was desired, within budget, and meeting the required distribution schedule.
Lithographic print partnership
The marketing team at Exeter College had this to say about their experience of working with Belmont Press.
"We were very happy with Belmont Press's customer service. The communication was clear and quick. Where there were any concerns about print finish (we wanted to achieve a neon finish on the cover which was not straightforward to do) these were communicated clearly on videocalls with us and potential resolutions were discussed and trialed quickly to ensure that the finish and quality would be as we wanted."
The team concluded "The actual sign off process was one of the smoothest we have had to date and all went to plan, in time for the print deadline. We have been happy with the quality of the print and the special finish too. It is exactly what we had hoped to achieve and the bright colours have received excellent feedback."
"On price, print quality and customer service Belmont Press have been very good and we are already planning our next print product with them."