BLOG: Chris Hopewell of Jacknife
I spent years working in music, producing and directing videos and using digital technologies like photoshop and after effects. I was instantly attracted to hand silk-screen printing when I encountered the method at the SXSW festival in the US at a screen printed gig poster show there called Flatstock.
Having been captivated by the process, I started to mess around with concepts, designing and printing my own work which eventually led to the decision to set up my own studio, Jacknife. I’ve continued to work in music, designing and printing gig posters. What I love is that it’s a really tactile process, the opposite to progress in digital, which is incredibly exciting.
The creative aspect is much the same as it is for digital process, but there’s something incredibly tangible about silk screen printing, seeing how colours develop and work together as the print develops but also meeting the challenges involved in a hand delivered process that differs depending on the design and number of colours used. There’s still a thrill in seeing our designs, our interpretation of music, develop in front of our eyes. And for me screen printing for gig posters is the perfect cross over of art and music.
In Arjowiggins Graphic we found the perfect partner and were thrilled when they came to us to ask us to design a limited edition poster to showcase Cyclus 100% recycled paper to designers. Our response to the brief was to create ‘Guardian’, a figurative design, featuring a non-aggressive guardian at the entrance to a forest. For the design of this and all our posters we have to go right back to basics and break it down like old litho print, layer by layer, looking at colour process, registration and crops marks.
For the best results, the printing press and our experience of this are critical to success. But so are the materials we’re using and I am pleased to say that Cyclus 100% recycled paper worked perfectly as the feel of the paper, how it holds ink and how it looks are essential to the beauty of the finished product. The touch and feel of the paper is really important – it’s what sets what we do apart from digital print. However to find a variety of great paper options the hunt goes on because the detail involved just can’t be produced effectively without careful consideration for the right type of paper.
Chris Hopewell is owner and lead designer of Jacknife Prints www.jacknifeprints.com