Canon: As We See It
Graphic Design
The Challenge
Every quarter, Canon U.S.A. releases a newsletter for its sales teams that features current technologies, events, and product releases. The articles are written by different team members, and each issue centers around a particular topic. The issues are printed on a different Canon printer each quarter, at various print shops around the country, and often features distinctive printing techniques. My job was to create a visual theme that accentuated the issue’s topic, and work with prepress to ensure the issue came out flawlessly.
For the issue above, we highlighted Canon’s beautiful print quality by featuring breathtaking photographs taken with Canon cameras. We used variable data printing throughout to customize the issue with each recipient’s name.
My Role
Each newsletter typically only consisted of 12 pages, and I usually had about 4 to 6 weeks to create it. I worked with Canon’s marketing team to perfect the content, and worked with each printer’s prepress department to ensure that the features of the Canon printer we used were highlighted to their full effect. This usually included features such as spot UV gloss, die cut printing, large format printing, and showing off a full gamut of printed color. We even printed an issue completely in grayscale to highlight the subtle tones achievable on Canon’s black and white large format printer.
This issue was printed on a long piece of paper to feature Canon’s large format printing capabilities. The resulting issue was a 4-panel accordion-fold.
What I Learned
I looked forward to this project every quarter. I really cut my teeth working with prepress and learning how to properly output a document for printing. The biggest thing I learned during this project was to not be afraid to ask questions. We literally worked with a different print shop on each issue, and most likely a different printer or print technology was used each quarter as well. Working with the printer to make sure my instructions were absolutely clear could mean the difference between a final product and a reprint.
This issue was printed on Canon’s state-of-the-art black and white large format printer, and was designed to show off variations between subtle grayscale hues.
Results
As We See It was always well received by the Canon sales teams, and the printers we worked with were pleased to be featured. The initial positive reception of the magazine allowed us more flexibility, so we were able to use more creative printing techniques and unique layouts with subsequent issues. I worked with Canon for almost a decade in many capacities.
This issue’s theme was “the office of the future.” I utilized UV spot printing for a futuristic feel, and designed a pull-out poster to highlight facts and statistics from Canon’s recent print trade show.