Blog

By Zaidee Jackson

Connect, Inspire, Elevate – the measure of materiality Resilience, fortitude, the spirit of industry and partnership has been a cornerstone for Ball & Doggett Australia. We created opportunity through adversity and rose to challenges, making them part of our story. At the height of the pandemic, we were faced with challenges communicating with our customers. We took a stance of ‘controlling what we could’ and worked through the ebbs and flow. We created a platform with the sole purpose to connect, inspire and celebrate our industry. Through this lens, we developed a Youtube twelve-week interview series with customers to tell us their story. “R E S E T with Ball & Doggett, A conversation connecting our industry” was launched, July 17^th, 2020. Click here for Episode 1 We wanted to share insight and understand what they were going through. Showing our community that they were not alone. We truly were all in this together. All our guests were asked to respond to one question; “What does optimism mean to you?” Those quotes were a beacon of hope, celebrating the unity within our industry. In late 2020 we were talking about creating something special for our team and customers as we  ventured into 2021. The mood was still filled with uncertainty. An unknown in some instances and knew we had to bring those quotes back to life! We wanted to create a project that connected with the soul. What better way than through food. Food is the centre of our world, culture, experiences and connectivity. These quotes on optimism were the catalyst in creating a cookbook that are peppered throughout the pages along with recipes. We wanted to create a project that connected the spirit of our team with a common goal. We reached out to our B & D national team creating a campaign to answer the question; “What recipes did you and your family enjoy during 2020 that brought you comfort?” We were thrilled with over 30 contributors. Sharing their stories, recipes and photographs. The Ball & Doggett Cookbook was born, ‘From our Family to Yours’, “A collection of Recipes and quotes on Optimism.” These recipes represents the shared experiences of our team members and their families. Our project team created a publication with heart. It was presented as a gift to both customers and our national team. A token of thanks at Christmas for their resilience, commitment and passion to our business.   Permanency, Supply Partners, Materiality and Food! This project was more than a printed experience on our glorious papers. What started off as an online experience with a Youtube series, sharing the interviews of our 12 week eDM campaign, led to creating a tactile, beautifully crafted and considered printed publication. A physical connection between our community, celebrating our industry’s craft of design, paper and print. The depth and honesty shared throughout those interviews, coupled with the quotes on optimism we felt creating a permanent expression of our experiences and offering a beautiful physical memory to celebrate our resilience as a unified industry was apt. Our gratitude is immense for all our contributors of optimism. It has provided an elevated expression, a sense of hope and brought smiles to faces that needed them during this time. Thank-you for allowing us to ribbon those quotes through our pages with this cookbook. Our project journey took fourteen months from the time of concept until we received our first thank-you from our first recipient. Suppliers, Partners…who needs them? Every single one of us! We were thrilled embarking on this project with our production partners. Gary Bowles from Arjowiggins Fine Papers came on board the moment we pitched the idea as our sponsor along with our print partner Southern Impact, Rod Dawson and Heath Nankervis. We would like to acknowledge Kellie Northwood, CEO of The Real Media Collective for celebrating with us on this project and providing the forward in our publication. It is an unapologetic celebration of print and what it offers us. The great experience of print and using various substrates expressed emotion and messaging. It’s the idea that you lean out with the communication piece at your own pace, absorb, process, enjoy and create a memory with the experience of print in your hand. According to Twosides (twosides.org,au) Toluna Survey 2017, 66% agreed that it’s important to “switch off” and enjoy printed books and magazines. Further findings indicate more Australians gain a deeper understanding when reading from print media (61%) over digital media (44%). Print is enjoyed as the most trusted communication medium by consumers. It’s a source of truth that they engage with in their own time. Positive impact on return of investments has been the reward for business that use print in conjunction with online platforms. So our message to you, print is your leading lady with online communication playing a fantastic supporting role, depending on the campaign of course – your options are limitless!   Production: Camera, lights, action! Understanding the magnitude of this project presented itself in the first month. Given our workload we needed to ensure our project ran to our set project production schedules that were already stretched. I make this point as it pertains to the collaboration of all parties and ensuring we connected with Southern Impact from the word go. They are the experts in their craft, whilst we had a vision that we wanted to bring to fruition. We relied on the team from the onset for technical advice and direction. You have to start somewhere, where? Mock-ups, glorious mock-ups! Working with our incredible Designline team, Jane Jackson and Sofia Cerros, we created a series of configurations that would allow us to understand how far we could push all elements; stock selection and colour (remember it’s always the fifth colour!), design, and naturally print. We settled on a specification that certainly pushed our boundaries and knew a press check was always going to be part of the journey: Production Notes: Stock: 4pp Cover: Curious Matter Goya White 270gsm 2pp Tip-In: Curious Translucent 112gsm 16 pp Text: Curious Skin Extra White 135gsm 16 pp Text: Rives Tradition Bright White 120gsm 48pp Text: Conqueror Wove Diamond White 120gsm Binding PUR Print: Four colour throughout with sealer varnish Press: Heidelberg XL106 – 10 Perfector Press for Tip in: Curious Translucent tip-in will be printed White only on HP Indigo 7800   Given our scope of the project and asking our teams to provide us with images was always going to be challenging. Ensuring the quality, image perspective and resolution would work for our design was always going to be a risk. One we wanted to take and it paid off! The rawness and sense of home is what makes these images work. My first conversation with Heath from Southern Impact was about the parameters of how the images needed to be supplied. Given all images were supplied by our team from their iPhones, this was going to present with complexities in artwork preparation for optimum output. Specifically high definition resolution.   Quote Heath Nankervis, Southern Impact, Sales Director Southern Impact was engaged by the team at Ball & Doggett in mid-2021 to produce a B&D 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. Recipes from B&D colleagues and suppliers were compiled to warm the hearts of families in a time where the country was dealing with a health pandemic. The Concept: to create memories at home, have a good tactile feel and be a keepsake booklet for people to have for years to come. The team at Southern Impact worked closely with B&D on testing different substrates, unique print methods (digital & 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 B&Ds Zaidee and our press operator Rhys, through to the communication with our bindery & fulfillment team to pack and distribute Australia wide was a team effort. Southern Impact was proud to be asked by B&D 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   Happy cooking everyone   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. 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, in particularly to elevate the images and work cohesively with our design layout. Both options were successful which brought the decision down to texture. Stock selection using Arjowiggins Fine Paper was always going to be a fun experience creating both the aesthetic and celebrating the notion that paper is the body language of the message.   Quote – Gary Bowles, Arjowiggins, Regional Manager   “The Ball & Doggett cookbook was a positive initiative during what was a difficult period for many and from the moment I heard about the concept, I knew we wanted to be involved as a sponsor. Connecting food, family and optimism was a project borne of passion and the best way to communicate this idea was with print. There is no better way to share and gift the cookbook than with a printed copy that has been photographed, designed and printed to perfection on beautiful paper. The enthusiasm of Zaidee and the Ball & Doggett team spread wide as quotes of optimism poured in from across the industry, all of which can be read throughout the cookbook. We are proud and delighted to be a part of this project and look forward to working closely with Ball and Doggett on future activities.”   Paging through each page the reader immediately has a sense of connection and emotion. Whilst you hold the cook book, with a cover made from potato starch, you know that each stock was selected for specific characteristics. That’s exactly what you will be holding with our cover produced on Curious Matter Goya White 270gsm. Initially we selected a 380gsm for the cover with intention of creating a substantial experience to house the text. Upon discussion with the experienced team at Southern Impact a change to the 270gsm was decided on. We needed to ascertain any unforeseen issues given we had 100mm flaps on the front and back covers. We wanted a flush finish trim. Our print experience drove the question to the printer who guided us to make the correct decision. Working with Caroline, the Project Manager was a terrific experience to run ideas past, gain insight to technicalities in the process and how we could push the boundaries with the intent of producing a stellar cookbook. The synergy in a project is critical to ensure all parties are on the same page throughout the process. We experimented with the tip in which was produced on HP Indigo 7800. We wanted to connect the quote we were using, creating a fluidity that Curious Translucent 112gsm naturally offers. A transparent sheet that was sitting on top of a full colour sheet. The hope was to create a strong connection to the stock and quote, “Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.” By Mohsin Hamid. By printing the quote with five hits of white on the reverse, the idea was to create an ‘echo’ in the print and allow the stock, or as we like to call it, ‘the body language’, to translate that. Upon testing the print on the front and reverse we were able to make a sound decision. The best outcome for the production was to keep the print on the front. This is hindsight coming to the fore and a luxury moment in production where most projects don’t have a budget and deadline to do a test. The lesson here is always check in with your printer and collaborate for the best outcomes.   Education elevates experiences What we can do as an industry is offer the education and language to those looking to elevate discussions with their own customers. Question, explore and investigate the notion; Why do we default to a commodity grade in paper? How can we convey the message to customers; by combining a more tactile connection to the printed piece, in conjunction with a commodity sheet, could in fact provide that elevated experience their brand offers the consumer. For us at Ball & Doggett, it is an important part of the process when we engage with customers to take them on that journey. Ask those questions and bring the stock selection into the broader story. Customers invest money and time on developing products and services and look to receive profitable returns. Part of their brand expression is ensuring the assets are reflective of that. They invest in great design, photography and talent to tell their brand story to their market. Our advice, always look to work with them to show them how they can elevate and deliver on their brand promise. We are passionate about working with brands and exploring how we can partner to acknowledge their investment and tell their story through impactful and engaging print. It does not always have to a commodity grade based on price. Sometimes it’s simply tapping into our expertise that allows us to influence others and demonstrate other ways to bring their printed communication to life. We were grateful for the collective experience that supported this project, delivering a publication we are all proud of.   Sign off it’s almost time to print! The sign off process is a critical step in the printing process, especially with any publication. Each Epsom proof, assimilating uncoated stock was laid out across the boardroom table with as much natural light flooding in the room. Each page was checked by two individuals to ensure that we were not going to find surprises on press. Through this process we identified grammatical errors and a concern with one image. We were thankful to the prepress team who were able to manipulate that image for a great result! This part of the game is one where you really have hindsight and a step never to be skipped. Whether it’s printed Epsom proofs or digital file, make sure you sign off!   From Design to the Press Once we had artwork almost finalised we supplied this to Heath and the team to review and to look for any unforeseen issues at the prepress stage. Given the filters applied to the images, resolution and allowances for various stocks this was a critical part of the process. A few elements were highlighted by the exceptionally skilled team working with us to correct image quality and enhance the resolution with some images. We even recreated a recipe to ensure we achieved the right resolution for output. We needed to be flexible and open to change given the various shades of stocks and tactility within the book. Considerations for the filters on images to create a mutual look and feel, along with the layout and typesetting. The printing process in itself was always going to be collaborative experience! From the moment I arrived on site, Rod Dawson greeted me with enthusiasm for our project that I certainly had. I was led into a client workspace and introduced to Caroline that I had been dealing with via telephone and mobile only at this stage. We set our objectives for the day on press, got my workstation set and coffee ready to start the day. Marshal White the Print Manager escorted me on the floor for the first section. My impression of going on site at Southern Impact is always one of favour. I love the energy on the floor, watching the presses at work and the operators pour their craft into the job. That was certainly my experience when I met Rhys Mullen! They managed my expectations around the printability of the stocks and how the print may appear more muted. I smiled knowing that we were about to impress each other, them with the print and me, well from a Ball & Doggett perspective, I had absolute faith our stocks would perform as they should! A word from our printer: Rhys Mullen, Printer, Southern Impact I wasn’t thrilled to walk into work last week to find I had a recipe book, “From Our Family to Yours Ball & Doggett Cookbook”, to print using specialty uncoated stocks from Ball and Doggett. Though I do always like a challenge, and always do my best to make a job look great, I couldn’t help of the negative thoughts I was having thinking of times I’ve ran stocks paper merchants and designers were excited about that looked great when blank but always looked like there was a lack of pressure when the sheets came off the press. From the very first sheet I pulled out of the machine I could see this job was not going to be a challenge, but rather a pleasure. Like Lennon and McCartney, Jay-Z and Beyonce, the paper and ink worked in perfect harmony with each other. “I think I’ve been converted?!” The dishes I was printing on the different stocks looked so real that I’d felt like I’d tasted each dish by the time the job was done!! The grains of salt, the shreds of coconut and the glisten and shine of oil all looked so realistic.  I was salivating at each section change! The first two stocks ran were 270gsm Curious Matter Goya White and 135gsm Curious Skin Extra White. Both had such natural whites and I even had to question if the stock was uncoated.  The other two stocks I ran were 120gsm Rives Traditional Bright White and 120gsm Conqueror Wave Diamond White. Although slightly warmer than the first stocks, they still showed off the food just as well. It was clear the dishes were the star of the book! Massive props to the client, Zaidee, we worked so in sync with each other during the print I felt like Tupac and Dre collaborating on California Love.  This job was such a great experience to print and I look forward to printing more jobs on Ball and Doggett uncoated specialty stocks. Rhys’s connection to his craft coupled with Marshal’s expertise was exciting as I knew the result would be above and beyond. Thank-you gents, you both rock!   Time to bind it up! The next phase of the project was ensuring we were able to create a true flush finish with those front and back flaps on the cover. I joined the team on the PUR line to discuss our options and ensure we were on the same page. Steve took me through our options and we collectively decided on the best course of action. I was shown examples to sign off on and along with Alan Didus, Victorian Sales Manager for Ball & Doggett we were permitted to watch the books come off the line! The moment of truth was in front of us, spinning on the belt ready for Quality Control, final trim and packing. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas We decided to work with Southern Impact on the fulfilment process. We had several elements that were required to be packed into a purpose Australian made mailer we had ordered and had delivered directly to them. Given we had a run of limited edition run of 1500, we supplied the team with both a PDF of the packing and video of how we wanted the job packed and labelled. That way there was no second guesses and we were managing our own expectations. Mailer, packaging wrap, cookbook, seal with branded sticker, insert of Christmas card that had Basil seeds attached to it and an insert card noting all the elements were produced in Australia and each of their environmental credentials were wrapped with a Christmas wish to each of our team members and customers. We always say don’t leave it to chance and provide the most detail you can to manage both parties expectations.   It’s a wrap! We applaud our Print and Creative community for walking a path with us that at times were unknown. Through collaborations and conversations we continue to create opportunity for sustainable outcomes for the industry at large. This cookbook allows us to share the craft that is print, the articulation of design and the platform to communicate. It’s a publication we can share with you the gift that is print. The pandemic has created a new lens for us to view our industry as a whole, but as individuals that has experienced a deep shift in a new normal we now live. This extraordinary time of our lives is about navigation, an exploration of self, discovering how truly amazing we are as individuals. Coming together to share food is one of the most giving expressions of love and community. Our hope is that this book brings you the sense of community that is intended. Presenting ourselves with an extension of empathy is just a small way we as a community, can be there for each other. This is our offering to let you know, we walk this path together. Let’s continue to celebrate the craft of print, the expression of design and the fierce love we have for paper!   If you haven’t got a copy yet, you still can. We have a limited 100 we are selling online through Pedigree Paper, the retail division for Ball & Doggett. Check out the link below and happy cooking! https://pedigreepaper.com.au/order-inspiration

Love Paper is a campaign that began in 2019 to engage with consumers. The Love Paper campaign supports a sustainable and socially engaging channel. So help us spread the word and get involved. For more details, click here to view the attached information sheet. For more information visit https://lovepaper.org/

What’s impacting prices from international shipping? Although we are all looking forward to a world without Covid-19, we are still dealing with it’s impact and will be for some time. In an unprecedented move, international shipping costs have increased exponentially. These increases impact all imported products from around the world. The below graphs illustrates the extent of the freight cost increases. No matter what index you use, its the same story. Source: Alphaliner Source: Drewry World Container Index   The factors driving this include increases to local landing charges, a shortage of empty containers and vessels worldwide, consolidation of Global shipping lines controlling supply and demand of containers and vessels, with routes from South East Asia increasing by as much as 500%, as well as the surge in spot rates. Along with this, schedule reliability is at its worst ever level as seen in the graph below. This is due to a number of reasons including port congestion, covid-19 work force constraints, blank sailings and transshipment’s.   Source: Sea Intelligence   So how long will these shipping cost increases stick around for? That’s a great question. Nobody is sure, the industry experts are predicting at least through to the end of 2021. We’ll continue to try and mitigate the impact as much as possible by reducing expenses in other parts of our business. Hasn’t the exchange rate mitigated some of these increases? Yes and no, the increases in cost have surpassed the benefit given by an improving exchange rate. Price increases would have been greater if not for the improvement in exchange rates.  

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  Pulp Pricing In recent months pulp pricing has increased by circa 30%. Some of the key drivers;

• High demand for fiber based packaging, building and textiles as economies rebound from COVID.
• Strong shift from plastic to fiber based packaging due to environmental concerns.
• Unsustainable low historic pricing from all pulp manufacturers globally.

Source: Fastmarkets   Does this mean we could be facing further price increases? We will continue to monitor the situation closely, provide information to you as it becomes available. These are unprecedented times with complex supply challenges. Ball & Doggett is working hard to mitigate the impact of these supply chain issues and remain committed to ensuring consistent supply of our range of products. Click here for a pdf version of this blog

The concept originates from a children’s magazine she was working on at the time that has since been published. Suzanne (aka @pofo_illo on Insta) painted the amazing mural on the mezzanine in the warehouse. We had a quick chat with her on the why, what and who! Tell us about yourself: Well, my name is Suzanne. I have illustrated and art directed for most of my career. I started art doing illustrations for the newspapers then I graduated from the Australian Film Television and Radio School and worked in children’s television as an art director. Along the way I started drawing under the name ‘Pofo.’ A UK greeting card company published a cartoon series I had made under that name and it has kind of stuck since. Pofo was a deliberately anti-digital, loose hand drawn style. I had been doing a lot of heavy digital work for years and I needed a break. I’ve come back from that time now and do all sorts of work. Why did you want to paint this mural? I had done some private big painted works on canvas and spare bits of left over house renovation materials, which were really just a free for all; loosely planned, lots of drippy paint. I really enjoyed these works but I wanted to extend myself a bit further and lift my skills. I set myself a couple of goals, one, transferring a design using a grid onto a big wall space and and two, paint with a bit more precision. I also wanted to try out different materials such as paint pens. On a personal level, the mural was a chance to see where I was at with my drawing and drafting and where I wanted to go with my craft. Why Ball & Doggett Tasmania? To try all this out and get some practice I needed a bigger space than what I currently had access to. I would drive past the Ball & Doggett Hobart warehouse almost daily as it’s right near where I live. Anyone who has worked in print should know Ball & Doggett so it stood out to me. I wondered if they had a spare corner of the warehouse that I could use. I had read the Ball & Doggett blog a few times and thought I might make a pitch along the lines of ‘if you let me paint on one of your walls you could feature it on the Ball & Doggett blog… and I’ll paint over it when I’m done.’ I spoke to B & D Tasmania Regional Manager Ian Jones and he was really open to it and suggested a ‘little’ space upstairs that was just perfect. The space was way bigger than anything I had worked on before and I had never worked on a concrete surface. So the challenge was on. Everyone at Ball & Dogged Tasmania were great, very welcoming. I got to work to the background noise of the forklift and trucks coming and going in what is a very busy warehouse. I really can’t thank Ball & Dogged TAS enough. In the end they didn’t want me to paint over it. What is the mural about? The mural concept is a support piece for a children’s magazine project I’d been working on for the last 6 months which is all about Tasmania. Some of the images and themes in the mural are from the magazine and the mural shows the contrasting parts of Tassie, but overall its just a big fun map.Tasmania is such a great place, If you can’t see something spectacular in 1.5 hours drive from your home base you are very hard to please. Tell us more about the children’s magazine Well, it’s all published now. It’s called Do! Tasmania. It’s a 40 page magazine full of dot the dots, mazes, puzzles and facts all about Tasmania written and illustrated by me. The overwhelming theme for the Do Mag is doing, activity, getting out and enjoying the world. I was lucky to have a one off pop up launch at Salamanca Markets where I did live drawing and colouring-in with all ages. The kids were colouring things in as fast as i could draw them. The mural work was great practice for this sort of event which I hope to do more of to promote the magazine. I did a very short run of the mag to test the waters. It’s available at a few select locations (only in Tasmania) and online at www.pofoshop.etsy.com. Peeps can contact me if they would like some more info. What’s next?  I learnt so much doing the mural. A lot of technical things like, what works for me, what doesn’t, what not to do next time, how long it takes. It also made me learn about my craft on a deeper level. When you work digitally you can endlessly massage the work to suit a desired end result. The mural experience was a lot more pure, you put a line down and well, that’s it. You zcan fiddle and muck around to try and perfect it but in the end you just have to move on. There were times when this frustrated me and I would think why did I ask for this, but now that it is done I’m sad its over. I have some more magazine and poster projects on the horizon and I am thinking about another mural…looking for my next space now. Look out Tassie! I think we’d gladly have you back to paint some more goodness.

We recently collaborated with Seljak Brand to bring their story to life in print. Featuring Maine Recycled and ecoStar+ 100% Recycled, the large format print piece captures the story of their beautiful recycled wool blankets. We sat down with Sam, one half of the amazing sister duo (the other half is Karina), to discover more about what had them start their inspiring brand, the concept of the circular economy and some very interesting insights into the world of waste. Download the interview here. A little about the brand… Sam and Karina Seljak imagine a world without waste, continuously finding new ways to make beautiful things that are regenerative by design. They launched their brand in March 2016 and have since worked towards accelerating the transition towards a more circular economy and closed loop methodologies. Their closed loop blankets (which we’re running a comp around at the moment! Refer to the end of this article), are made from 70% recycled Australian merino wool and a 30% blend of polyester and recycled alpaca, mohair and cotton – cosy enough for indoors and durable enough for outdoors. The blankets are made with offcuts from the factory floor of the oldest weaving mill in Australia, which happens to be a wool mill in Tasmania. B&D: What did you discover researching the circular economy? And for those that don’t know, what is it? Sam Seljak: The circular economy is a movement that rejects the current linear take/make/waste model that the world is using today to make and build things. Instead, it focuses on a closed loop circular model that cycles resources again and again. This avoids discarding resources in landfill and the mining of virgin resources for making products. So in the circular economy, existing resources like recycled materials are used to create and make products. Then there is an end of life solution so that the product doesn’t get discarded but instead gets held to its highest value at all times and used in a closed loop. B&D: Did you find there are a lot of products that use this system? Sam Seljak: It is a pretty tricky system to achieve when it comes to making products and things like clothes, buildings, in fact most of the things that our society uses. There are lots of people and businesses that are trying to implement the circular economy but having a truly closed loop model is quite rare. We’ve found that there are lots of small start-ups managing to create a fully circular program or production cycle, but when it comes to larger scale it can become quite difficult. There are circular economy thought leaders, for example William McDonough and Michael Braungart who created ‘cradle-to-cradle’, who’ve implemented certifications for use in the building industry and for larger impact products as well as smaller ones. So there is an uptake in many industries around the world but true circularity is still very hard to achieve and many are still working towards it. B&D: Why is recycling textile waste so important to you both? Sam Seljak: Textiles waste is something that the world has in abundance. People’s behaviour today is very consumeristic and statistics show that people are buying more clothes than ever before. And of course this means they can’t all be worn so the old clothes and production waste of these new clothes needs to go somewhere. When this textiles waste is in landfill it releases harmful methane gases into the atmosphere and ultimately degrades ecosystems and perpetuates climate change. So it’s not only a waste resource that is in abundance, it’s also something that is incredibly damaging to the environment. So from both of these perspectives we felt there is a need to use this as the precious resource that it is rather than let it be discarded as waste. B&D: Do you think the attitude to recycling is different in Australia to other countries? Sam Seljak: I think Australia as a population is pretty aware of recycling. Recently, shows like ‘War on Waste’ has been monumental in helping that. We’ve also seen companies like Keep Cup now become a household name. Of course there are still statistics that show that Australians throw away millions of single-use coffee cups every day. But then in comparison – I’ve been based in Scandinavia for the last two years – in other countries, the government takes a huge responsibility for recycling. In my apartment block in Sweden there are around 10 different recycling bins…one for batteries, clear glass, coloured glass, paper, for cardboard, soft plastics, hard plastics, aluminium, the list goes on. And thus exists a mindset in Scandinavia that the government will take care of it so it becomes less of a people’s problem. You don’t see a wide-spread uptake of KeepCups, for example. Whereas in Australia I feel like it’s the opposite. The people are recognising it needs to change and therefore are acting. And these movements, and shows like ‘War on Waste’, will hopefully impact legislation. B&D: We see on your website that for every 10 blankets sold, Seljak Brand donates one to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Victoria. Why did you choose this organisation? Sam Seljak: Seljak, our surname, is a Slovenian name. Our grandparents where refugees to Canada in World War II (we have a Canadian father and Australian mother) from Slovenia. We saw our grandparents had flourished in a country where they arrived without speaking the language or understanding the culture and yet contributed so much to the society over the decades. So we’ve both felt quite strongly about Australia enabling opportunities for people in less fortunate situations. And ultimately it’s about accessing basic human rights; a safe place to live. If you can’t live safely or you can’t secure your safety where you are, then we think you should be able to seek that somewhere else. We think the ASRC is an organisation that does a wonderful job of supporting and welcoming asylum seekers to Australia. They rely on the generosity of people around Australia. It’s the least we can do to support their cause and we’d love to do more in the long run. B&D: Your latest project with Citizen Wolf, tell us a little more about that. Sam Seljak: Last year we crowdfunded some research and development money to find a solution for businesses that were coming to us with their textiles waste. We had already set-up Seljak Brand and had already used offcuts from the Tasmanian mill to create the blankets, which is an age old technique used by mills. As word spread, other companies were coming to us with their textiles waste and we needed some time and resources to put into testing solutions for other companies’ waste. Citizen Wolf was one of the companies and we’re working with the offcuts of their custom t-shirt production. They have a very sustainable business model already – made-to-order and custom fit so they have minimal waste anyway. The scraps they do have we shredded and spun into a light weight yarn that we’ll then weave into a lighter weight summer time blanket. Of course, our beautiful cosy blankets are great for the Australian winter, but come summer, people might want something less warm! We’re hoping to launch that in October. B&D: Any other innovative projects in the pipeline for Seljak brand? Sam Seljak: We just got accepted into the Kick Starter program which is funded by Macquarie Group and run by SEFA partnerships. Basically, it’s an accelerator for social enterprises to grow their impact. So we’ll have access to mentors and support to become investor ready if we want to go down that path. We’d love to be able to introduce another waste-to-resource product in 2019, whether that’s something that focuses on recycled textiles in the way we have been using them now or in a completely different way. Some facts about Seljak Brand… • Diverted 2,000kg of textiles waste from landfill. • Donated 114 blankets to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne. • Exposed over 500,000 Australians to closed loop business practices thanks to the press they’ve received. • They’ve crowdfunded $32,000 to help fund the research and development of using other businesses’ textile waste to make more blankets (check out their progress here with local Sydney label Citizen Wolf’s offcuts). It’s a great time to be a Seljak sister that’s for sure! If you’re one of our customers, your rep will be around soon with a copy of the Seljak Brand print piece, featuring Maine Recycled and ecoStar+ Recycled. We’re pretty fond of recycled products around here which is why we love the Seljak Brand ethos, their products and why the recent collaboration was a no brainer for us. To share our love of recycled goods, you can win one of their cosy blankets! We have five to giveaway. Visit www.thinkrecycled.com.au and in 25 words or less, tell us your recycled story. Handy hint! If you’re into recycled things like we are, visit thinkrecycled.com.au and use the environmental calculator. Enter the details into the eco calculator and display results on your next print job or client meeting. The calculator makes it easy for you to illustrate the contribution you can make to the environment when using some of the recycled papers in the Ball & Doggett range.

The final issue of BJ Ball New Zealand’s GSM covers a great story about the making of our brand. Designed by Sydney agency For The People, the task was not an easy one! Merging two prominent companies in the same industry and creating a new story, was a big task.

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Mid-2017, two of the largest commercial print supply merchants in Australia merged; K.W. Doggett and BJ Ball—became Ball & Doggett. The merging of these two industry heavyweights was always going to present significant opportunities. One such opportunity was brand.

Historically, both entities have had their own stories to tell and legacies on which to draw. K.W. Doggett takes its name from the Doggett family who founded the company in the late 1960s. BJ Ball has been supplying paper in New Zealand for nearly 100 years, before moving into the Australian market in recent decades. But as the saying goes, ‘the past is the past, the future belongs to now’. And that future is Ball & Doggett.

GSM caught up with Jason Little, Creative Director and co-founder of Sydney-based For The People, AGDA Studio of the Year (2016)—to talk about paper, brand and everyone being on the same page.

GSM: How did you come to work with Ball & Doggett on the project?
JL: Getting to work on a project like this was quite fortuitous, but it’s equally an outcome of good relationships over time. Working in Australia since 2002, I’ve had my fair share
of print projects, and over those years developed some good working relationships with some lovely and helpful people at BJ Ball. During my stint as AGDA NSW Chairman a few years back, I began working even more closely with BJ Ball to support their needs as a sponsor. When I began For The People, Tony Bertrand at BJ Ball was very supportive, and gave us one of our first projects—The Mohawk Show.The relationship has been stronger ever since. After a proposal submission, discussions with representatives from both companies—Catherine Doggett & Tony Bertrand, we received the job.

GSM: Run us through the thought process behind the project.
JL: Working in print has changed. The traditional paper industry has had to shift its thinking, and start looking at new avenues for growth. BJ Ball & KW Doggett know this, and have been working hard to adapt to the ever-changing needs of customers, staff, and the industry itself. In mid 2017 they joined forces as part of a merger to form the largest commercial print supply company in the Australian market, Ball & Doggett. This was big news and a big change for the Australian industry, which was essentially bringing two of the three largest players together. When the brief for this project arrived, there was an obvious enthusiasm from the studio. We assembled the team: Amanda, James, Liv, Damian, Sunil, Ed and myself. We worked through a rapid immersion in the businesses, research and intensive engagement with the people of both companies, the products, and a diverse array of clients and customers. A vast amount of interviews, site visits with impromptu conversations and desk research allowed us to really observe the strengths, cultures and ambitions of both businesses. From here we were able to formulate some hypotheses about the newly merged company and where it could potentially position itself.The final objective of this project was to build a brand for the newly named Ball & Doggett (the name was also part of the process), that was not only true to the two businesses and the people, but also one that sets a bold vision for its future. We needed to present back a strong point of view on what that vision could be; how the new direction could consolidate their ambitions and help them drive the business forward, whilst connecting with its highly diversified clients.

GSM: How did you come up with the new Ball & Doggett identity? What is it about?
JL: The merger was as an opportunity to build a new identity that better reflected the true nature of the business—that of a highlydiversified, innovative company that supplies every material associated with the print and production supply chain. It needed to move beyond the perception of a paper merchant stuck in the past, and really start to show how the company fits into the digital ecosystem of today. The diverse set of customers meant that the identity needed to flex in tone whist maintaining a coherent story.We were very conscious of trying to show the company’s knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for their products and the relationships they’ve built with clients.

Testing paper weight, mixing ink and polishing foil were some we put through the lens of Willy Wonka and the materials factory, where thingsare never ordinary. And so the brand began to take shape from there.

The simplified letterforms of the brandmark enable it to demonstrate various behaviours and material properties. This was coupled with the imagined weird and wonderful manufacturing processes to show the joy in all materials. When it came to anything printed, materials are pushed to the front in applications. This meant toning down or straight up avoiding excessive graphics, and instead leaning more towards utility of information, simplified typography and a focus on making the materials do all the talking. The material is the central piece—its colour, texture, smell, weight, and so on, and every piece of design is there to support it, not distract from it.Understanding the need to tell a human story, we also worked with illustrator Deborah Ho to create a series of character illustrations to reflect the people of Ball & Doggett. These are then used for navigation and informative elements online, and across internal communications to facilitate the merger transition.

GSM: You worked in a highly collaborative and transparent way with Ball & Doggett—can you elaborate on this approach?
JL: We’ve been working in a completely open and transparent partnership with clients since we began the studio three years ago. It has meant that there are little, or no, secrets. From the start, we really try to immerse ourselves in the project, and the client’s business, whilst intensively engaging with the client team. From there, everything is shared and communicated almost daily. We really throw ourselves head first, and look to work through a shared commitment and authorship.

There is a constant conversation: thoughts and progress are shared through Slack, lo-fi videos of internal discussion and developments are recorded and uploaded, there are regular phone and Skype chats, there are face-to-face meetings
to share the larger milestones of the project with a wider group. Essentially, the evolving process of our thinking is seen, shared and discussed throughout the process.

One particular instance of this was for a critical meeting to share our creative concept. It involved the team standing around a wall in our studio, iPhone in hand, with Catherine Doggett on Skype, at the other end. The video discussion bounced around from talking to the screen, to pointing the phone at stuff on the walls, moving in closer to show specific details or information, and then back to me or a member of the team. It was presenting the main creative idea in its early and imperfect iteration. However, it was building on prior ad-hoc conversations we’d been having, so was less of a ta-da moment and more of a thought share. This kind of loose chat is typical. It’s not for everybody, but for most of our clients it works. There is no pretence or formality once the project gets going. We’re all in it together trying to find the best outcome, and it makes the process far more enjoyable.

GSM: What challenges did you face while working on the project?
JL: This is an enviable project to work on—ensuring it delivers on the needs of the organisation and its people, whilst delivering a good creative result, is probably the main one.There were obvious concerns about a potential convoluted decision-making process, but this never materialised—it was a very straightforward process, we were working closely with the decision makers, and consensus was easily achieved on the work. We hit a brick wall for a period during the design sprint, where we had some issues in crafting the identity so that it could showcase the material properties. We finally cracked it once we brought a level of simplicity to the logo. This allowed us to go further in execution through the 2D and 3D work.

GSM: Where is the identity at and what’s next?
JL: The brand is still very new to the market. We’ve developed the core parts of the identity and developed the design intent for a number of areas. We’ve created 3D illustrations and animations with some cracking animators, Dominik Grejc and Georgiy Kuznetsov, for use online and in marketing publications. Various pieces of print and digital communications are being worked on by the B&D team, The Company You Keep, and ourselves. We’ll be looking to build out and shoot some of the material testing experiments when the opportunity presents itself further down the track.As Ball & Doggett look to the future, this new brand gives them the flexibility to adapt and develop in untapped markets, create new tools for their customers, and stay relevant as the market changes. I’d anticipate further collaborations, with great designers and studios, to interpret the branding and help it live up to the ambitions I have for it.

GSM would just like to clarify for our Kiwi readers that Ball & Doggett is the Australian entity for BJ Ball. In New Zealand the company remains known as BJ Ball. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

We recently released an A5 sampler created by A Friend of Mine design studio in Melbourne, consists of a set of seven cards (read more about it in the previous post). One of the cards, printed on a Dry Toner machine, is what we’re going to share our knowledge about today.

Designer: A Friend of Mine. Photography: Sarah Anderson.

In print land, there are many ways you can print an image. Dry Toner print means laser printer and is a great choice for short run work. Dry toner machines are the most common print machines out there so you can often get work done quickly and at a competitive price. Like all digital printing there is very little set up (no plates) meaning each impression can be different to the next, think personalisation and the ability to mix up the colours on the same job.

Dry Toner printing has made leaps and bounds in terms of print quality and enhancement too, now offering a broader gamut of colour via CMYK but also clear, silver and gold toner options too. Dry toner is really up there for quality now and we actually think dry toner silver gives the best metallic print result you can find but shhh don’t tell the offset guys!

Economical embellishment with clear toner
The idea of this piece was to show you can mimic spot varnish with the use of clear toner. It’s a really economical trick and great for when you only need a small amount of business cards or an invite. On first glance of the printer’s proof we immediately saw the clear ink was too subtle on the bright pink. We wanted more impact so decide to put 30% magenta down first and then print the clear toner over the top. This gave greater contrast between paper and print. And by putting the clear toner on last it gave a nice shiny finish, mimicking the look of an expensive varnish.

    

TIP: the more matt and rough the paper is the greater contrast with the shiny clear toner. This trick works beautifully on dark papers and can be mistaken for a clear foil. Much cheaper and quicker than getting a foil block made and ideal for those times when you need some quick impact.

Looking for some additional inspo? Here’s some dry toner tricks just for you:
1. Clear ink on black stock to create a shiny, rich black effect.
2. Clear ink on white stock can achieve a subtle, modern white foil effect
3. Print a clear ink pattern over black text for a textured print effect
4. Dry Toner Silver and Golds come in all shades from yellow gold through to cooper, pewter and flat silver. It’s a mix of silver and yellow and the shades are endless.
5. Want a thick card? We sell cardboard that can be printed and stuck together under pressure. Mulitloft and Mohawk layers are the two products. It’s a cheap way to get super lux thick business cards on a short run, quick turnaround basis.

If you ever have any production questions, speak to your business development executive or call our marketing department on either 02 8863 1266 or 03 8794 3407.

Spec:
Dry Toner on Pop’Set Cosmo Pink 320gsm.
Printed: 30% Magenta plus clear toner on front. Silver toner on reverse.
A5 cut short grain.