Sol Pop 4 – Maps | Calverts Co-operative: Design and Print

Welcome to print.coop, the ink-on-paper pages from specialist printing and design co-operative, Calverts. We produce high quality, economical and sustainable, commercial print. We're experts in the latest and best litho and digital printing technology, as well as traditional craft applications. We know almost every commodity grade or 'designer' FSC or recycled paper on the market, and can tell you about the most cost effective formats.

our approach

Why work with Calverts?

Print buyers come to Calverts for four main reasons - our creativity, quality, expert advice and track record in sustainable printing.

We have proper conversations with our clients, to help them realise their print ambitions - from fairtrade teaching tools and low carbon travel guides to art and science comics and high end books. There's almost no print idea we can't turn into reality.

We have a hard-earned reputation as 'green' printers. We're always investing, learning and sharing what we know about every aspect of low environmental impact communications.

And Calverts worker co-operative business model means we're able to improve continuously, by putting our money into state-of-the art repro and printing hardware, software and training - instead of paying dividends to outside owners and shareholders.

All this adds up to higher quality, higher impact print; timely delivery - and a better print experience.

Get in touch and we'll help you print something beautiful.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Standards & certification

Design and print affect the environment. Calverts has therefore implemented an environmental management system to the requirements of ISO 14001 to reduce our negative environmental impacts.

We are committed to comply with or exceed the requirements of environmental legislation and other environmental initiatives to which we subscribe. We are also committed to the prevention of pollution and continual improvement.

Our objectives are to:

1) Reduce our carbon emissions

2) Reduce the impact of paper use on natural resources

3) Improve resource efficiency and recycling

We have set up programmes to achieve this with targets and time scales.

Find out more about our environmental initiatives.

Arts

Sol Pop 4 – Maps

Solipsistic Pop 4

A great example of what makes the UK comic scene so strong and vibrant at the moment, the latest issue of Solipsistic Pop is out now.

An ambitious package of printerly delights based on the theme of "maps", this latest anthology of UK comic artists pushes print, and printed comics in particular, in new directions with a breathtaking selection of print processes and papers.

At the heart of the package we have the main book - 80 pages of spot colour lovliness printed on Redeem 100% recycled, a natural coloured paper with excellent opacity which allows for printing on lighter weights of paper without the risk of show-through.

Wrapping around the book we have an intricate dust jacket, designed by Katie Green, which doubles-up as a map complete with teddy bears, ships, sheep, and Monopoly man top hats.

An additional three postcard sized comics extend the theme of maps and travel - glow-in-the-dark ink adds a new context to one comic when you find a dark place to read it in, another lists a bingo checklist of things to find in your area, and when you reach an appropriate destination the final postcard comic is printed on seed paper that can be planted once it has been read.

The entire package comes in a folder screenprinted with a blueprint, diagram-based design that fits perfectly with the cartological theme.

Solipsistic Pop's creator Tom Humberstone has written previously on why printed comics rather than digital comics work for him and this latest edition of Sol Pop illustrates his argument perfectly.

Printing by Calverts and Henningham Family Press, Solipsistic Pop 4 is launched tonight at Concrete, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ.