By Jewlissa Frickey, writer, PostPress
Marked with the words, “One Country, One Constitution, One Destiny” on the bottom of the poster, the sixth print in the US Landmark series by Baugh Graphic Finishing House was brought together by the US Capitol.
“We wanted to produce the next poster in our series to highlight a sculptured emboss image as the main finishing technique with a little bit of foil stamping,” said Dave Hurdle, vice president of Baugh Graphic Finishing House. “We liked the Capitol because of the detailed architecture in the windows and dome and the statue at the top of the building.”
UV Printed (CMYK + Brown) by Printing Partners using a 90 lb Fluorescent White Letter Press Finish Cover, Baugh was able to fulfill the need for a paper with high cotton content to showcase the emboss.
“In order to create the graphics,” Hurdle stated, “We started with a stock image of the Capitol and then had a graphic designer convert the file. We needed something in the background to help bring the white emboss out, so we came up with the idea to print the Constitution behind the Capitol.”
The 20 x 30″ piece is the epitome of detail with its multi-level die, viewers are able to see, and feel, the columns in the front of the dome as well as the columns on the opposite side of the building. Furthermore, it allows one to feel the curvature of the dome, columns and further details throughout the building.
“For the specialty effects and embellishments, we multilevel embossed and used four colors of foil stamping,” said Hurdle. “For embossing we used the Bobst 126 BMA, for foil stamping we used the Bobst 102 BMA and finally, for the foil we used four colors from Infinity Foils including gunmetal, bright silver, metallic red and blue.”
To achieve the amount of detail the poster possesses, meticulous attention was given by Universal Engraving Inc. (UE) to ensure that all details were embossed with depth and perspective. “We used a brass emboss die, which is a very intricate embossing die,” said Hurdle. “Identifying the substrate was essential in the embossing process to determine the amount of paper stretch possible. In addition, the embossing die needed to register to several foil stamping dies, some which had fine details, as well as ‘nest’ into preprinted lithography.”
The Capitol is set against a backdrop of the original Constitution with the American flag, rendered in red and blue foil, in the foreground and the statue of freedom along top.
“One of the biggest challenges we faced during this project was controlling the depth of the emboss,” said Hurdle. “It was necessary in order to get the most detail possible without cutting through the paper.”
Another challenged noted by Hurdle was regarding heat compensation. “Copper Flat – Gunmetal Shade was used for the statue on top, in order to ensure registration to the emboss the die was given a special heat compensation.” All four of the copper foil dies were given special heat compensation to ensure registration to the emboss area.
“The reaction from our clients was great,” said Hurdle. “Many requested extra copies and several questions as to how big the die was to accomplish the piece.”
