Équipe | Témoignages

Digital Inkjet VS Toner—What’s the Difference?

We are excited for the upcoming launch of our latest press acquisition, the HP PageWide T250 HT inkjet press. This new digital inkjet press comes with the latest printhead technology, which will have a positive impact for many of our customers.

Two of the biggest challenges when launching new technology and equipment are understanding how it will impact our customers, and which products will run best on this new technology. We spent a lot of time getting customer feedback, working with vendors, and analyzing our product types to ensure the investments we are making line up with the current and future needs of our customer base. As we progress through the install and start to run this press, we will share insights and information to help you better understand the benefits of using it, and with which products this press will help provide you with the best quality combined with competitive prices.

In this article, we want to give you a high-level overview of what each of these digital print technologies does to put ink on paper.

Toner—HP 50000 Indigo

• Cost—In most cases, the cost is higher versus inkjet.
• Speed—Runs slower than inkjet.
• Quality—Higher print quality than inkjet. The Electro ink sits on top of the paper, and can often give you brighter colours with increased contrast. At Friesens, the colour calibration is aligned with our offset presses. In general, the toner-based digital press print is a higher quality than inkjet. Keep in mind when you have books with black type only, there will be minimal differences.
• Substrates—Fewer options compared to offset or inkjet. At Friesens, we do stock various offset, gloss, and matte coated papers for our HP Indigo (toner) press.
• Run length—In most cases, we would run one thousand books or less (dependent on page count).

Inkjet—HP PageWide T250 HT

• Cost—In most cases, the cost is lower versus toner.
• Speed—Runs at higher speeds than toner.
• Quality—Inkjet has improved considerably, but in general the quality is not quite as good (dependent on imagery and colours). The inkjet ink is water-based, and ink absorbs into the fibres, which tends to lower the brightness and contrast. The dots on the inkjet press are not as sharp; therefore, less contrast. As mentioned earlier, in some cases where you have black type only, there would be minimal differences. If colour is less critical and more pleasing, inkjet may be the right choice for you.
• Substrates—There are more options than with toner. This is because the ink is sprayed onto the paper and you don’t have drums or impression cylinders that touch the paper. We plan to run offset, gloss, and matte coated papers and may expand as we better understand the capabilities.
• Run length—If we compare run lengths to 1/1 black web press, we expect to run quantities of two thousand and less. In some 4-colour projects we may run up to a quantity of five thousand (page count does play a factor).

We’d love to hear how we can be of service to you!

Please email us at book_info@friesens.com

The Psychology of Fonts

When creating text communications, the words you’re sharing is only half of what you’re sharing with the world. The rest comes from the visuals of how you present your information.

So what is Font Psychology? Simply put, it’s the study of how we perceive fonts to have certain emotions or associations. This can be broken down into two separate types – brand association and general emotion association

Brand Recognition

This one’s pretty self explanatory, some fonts are so associated to major brands that it’s immediately what you think of when you see it. That may come in the form of utilizing a pre-existing font (such as Spotify using Gotham), or the creation of a new, custom design (ie. Disney).

While fonts that come with instant recognition have some great advantages, be careful about copyright usage, and keep in mind that association with a specific brand may age poorly.

General Emotions

This may seem like a much more nebulous train of thought, but the connection between specific font types and the emotions they’re associated with are a massive part of marketing and brand creation. Even something as simple as Serif vs Sans-Serif vs Script can make a change in how your print is perceived.

When creating any piece with text, it’s important to keep this in mind to ensure that the feel of your work matches the content. But we can go a bit deeper to see just how a small change can make a huge difference to how your composition is viewed.

Breaking Down Fonts

So what else can your font say for you? Let’s get into some of the specifics of how you can share emotion and value without saying (or typing) a word. We’ll go through some common font types and break down what the associations are.

Light, tall thin fonts often convey beauty, femininity, and delicacy. They are usually gentle and soothing. Bold fonts are often seen as daring, assertive, or solid. More often associated to masculinity and can be seen as aggressive.

Rounded, bubble style fonts are often comforting. You’ll often see this in items for children, or sweet food items. Sharp fonts, by contrast, are often seen as aggressive. You’ll see it on formal or official pieces of paperwork, as well as foods that are bitter or sour.

Even within these designations there are variations. Simply shaped letters allow for direct communication and ease of reading, while complexity gives a uniqueness and spontaneity but can make it difficult to read in larger chunks. Something as simple as a slant can convey movement, and shorter fonts can display stability while tall fonts are airy and luxurious.

The next time you’re reading a magazine (print or digital!) or looking at a poster, stop to really pay attention to the fonts the designers chose. What do they tell you? And how can you bring that into your own publications?

Friesens Employee Promotes Essential Services of STARS Air Ambulance

 Friesens has supported STARS Air Ambulance for several years and has had a long-standing relationship with them because of the vital service they provide, not only to local communities but to rural, remote areas, arriving in a fraction of time it would take any other emergency vehicle.

STARS is a charitable, non-profit organization funded by individuals, organizations, businesses, event partners and governments.

For more than 30 years, their success has been grounded in community partnerships and donations and they are committed to continuing those alliances and provide life-saving services well into the future.

In 2012, STARS signed a 10-year agreement with the Government of Manitoba to provide helicopter air ambulance service from a permanent base in Winnipeg and since their first mission in Manitoba, STARS has flown well over 5,000 missions here.

With STARS, those being transported to major medical centres receive the very best care via helicopters staffed and outfitted as mobile ICUs.

Friesens employee-owner Rudy Dueck knew that the company supported this life-saving service, but he never thought he would be the one receiving it until one fateful day last July, when he experienced cardiac arrest.

Dueck was the passenger in a truck when he lost consciousness. “My friend was driving and rushed me to the emergency room where they immediately started CPR. They were able to start my heart again, but I was still in critical condition.”

STARS Air Ambulance airlifted Dueck not once, but twice to St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, where they were able to provide the specialized care that he needed.

Today, having survived and recovered, Dueck is considered a STARS VIP – Very Important Patient. Each VIP has a different story, but one detail ties them all together: the harrowing moment when STARS saved their life.

Recovered and doing well, Dueck says he knows he is alive today because of the quick transport he received through the air ambulance service and the prayers of his family and friends. “I may not have survived. Having access to STARS is essential for rural communities as it allows them to access larger city services and doctors who have the skills needed to help those who require specialized emergency care.”

But like any other vital, non-profit service, STARS needs support to continue to operate. Community partners like Friesens help them to keep providing life-saving transport and care. A donation of $5,400 – equal to one dollar per second of an average 90-minute mission – will take STARS closer to those who need emergency medical transport.

It’s an organization many don’t give much thought, until they’re the one on the gurney.

To those who may think this service is too costly, Dueck says it’s worth every penny and more.

“STARS gave me a second chance at life. Their care allowed me to have more time with my wife, my children, and my grandchildren. I have had the opportunity to continue to build my family and my community, and this is something I will not take for granted. I believe STARS can give people like me a second chance, and I don’t think you can put a price on that.”

As an employee-owner of Friesens, Dueck says it’s important to him that the Altona-based company chose to support and donate towards STARS Air Ambulance.

“Having a heart attack changed my life in many ways. I am so thankful that I had access to STARS as it helped give me a second chance at life. I have seen first-hand how important STARS can be. For me, it helped lead to a very different outcome than many of the doctors anticipated and I think it is essential that Friesens continues to support the lifesaving work that STARS provides.”

Byron Loeppky, Friesens employee-owner and Senior VP of Books says, “Friesens has been a proud supporter of STARS Air Ambulance for several years.  It provides a vital service to rural Manitoba that has benefited both current and former Friesens employee-owners. Rudy’s story is one example of how we have benefitted from its service and are so grateful that they were there for Rudy when he needed them. We consider STARS to be an essential service to Southern Manitoba.”

What Bradley Wilson Keeps In His Camera Bag

Every four years, we get the honour and excitement to print a book for the Association of Texas Photography Instructors. We were on hand in February for the launch of Volume V of the Best of Texas Scholastic Photography and managed to catch up with one of their Senior Consultants.

Dr. Bradley Wilson is currently an Associate Professor at Midwestern State University, and has worked in a variety of roles in the past, from a photojournalist in Austin to Executive Director of the National Press Photographers Association. We’ve had the pleasure of working with him for multiple projects, and he was happy to give us some insight regarding one of the burning questions we’ve had: just what does he keep in his camera bag?

« My camera bag is heavy. I carry more than I should. However, there’s nothing worse than getting to a scene only to find that I don’t have the right equipment.

Often, it’s the little things.

Perhaps the most essential thing I carry is extra batteries. Extra charged batteries. Before I go out on assignment, I make sure all my batteries are charged. And I bring the charger with me too. Batteries die. They go bad. It never hurts to have an extra set. And that extra set is useless if it isn’t charged. 

Because we’re not quite to the point of transmitting images as we shoot routinely from a DSLR, I bring extra memory cards, all freshly formatted and labeled with my name and phone number.

Then I bring more than one lens. 

I almost always carry a 16-35mm f/2.8 wide-angle lens, and that’s what’s on my camera when it’s in the bag. I find that lens one of the most versatile lenses around, good for almost anything but field sports.

And a 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto zoom, a lens every photojournalist should own. Again, it’s very versatile and good for everything from classroom shots to speaker shots to mid-range sports action. While it won’t fit in my camera bag, I have a monopod and 300mm f/2.8 lens for sports like football and soccer. It’s possible to shoot football and soccer with a 200mm lens, but with a 200mm lens, photographers have to be patient, waiting for the action to come to them. 

Finally, tucked away in a corner of my bag is a nifty-fifty, a 50mm f/1.8 lens. It’s great for really low-light situations when I can get in close or when I need really low depth of field. They’re not expensive and can save the day from time to time.

All of my lenses have a UV filter on the front of them to protect that front element.

My camera bag is like a good, old desk. It has lots of compartments. It’s worth paying for a high-quality bag that isn’t too big and won’t fall apart on the first assignment. Indeed, I’ve had the bag I’m using now for about 20 years. Like good glass, a good camera bag is an investment.

I used to carry a flash, the expensive, dedicated kind. It broke. That was three years ago. Given how sensitive cameras are to light now, I haven’t found a real need to replace it although there were one or two times when I wish I had supplementary light.

One of the pockets on my camera bag is reserved for lens caps. They’re expensive but they get in the way of good photos so mine stay in my bag, not on my lenses.

Some people carry two camera bodies in their camera bags. It’s good to have a backup. I don’t have room for that. But I have been in situations where I’ve had to pull out my phone to shoot with for various reasons.

In the back pocket of my camera bag, I have several notebooks and assorted writing utensils, maybe a dozen pens and a Sharpie or two. I get tired of writing on my hand in a pinch, but I know how important caption information is to the success of any photo. Captions complete the story. Captions answer the questions who, what, when and where with the names of all identifiable people. It’s so much easier and more efficient to get caption information at the time of the event rather than asking people to recall details from three weeks ago.

Finally, also tucked away in a hidden corner of my camera bag is a $20 bill with a few business cards. You never know. »

Thanks, Bradley!

Sustainability Story – Agfa Adamas Plates Make Positive Impact

Vincent Van Gogh said “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together”. Using that mindset we continue in our relentless pursuit of making positive changes when it comes to reducing environmental impact and improving our sustainability journey.

As such we want to share this good news story from Agfa who has been an important supplier of our press plates. Here is a statement from Agfa regarding our new Adamas plate,

Adamas is under the ECO3 concept, which stands for Ecology, Economy, Extra Convenience. ECO3 innovation is committed to sustainable innovation that targets ecology, economy and extra convenience (ECO3), Agfa aims at developing cleaner and cost-effective solutions that are easy to operate and maintain, both for chemistry-free and conventional systems.

The Adamas Printing Plate is a prime example of this philosophy, requiring only small quantities of
clean-out gum when combined with the Adamas COU clean-out series. The result? No use of water, decreased waste production, lower disposal costs and a safer work environment.

At Friesens we use around 150,000 press plates annually. We have been recycling our plates for decades. The process to develop and treat them has significantly improved during that time. However, as we partner with suppliers like Agfa it is important, we continue to work together to make positive changes. This is an example of how looking at one plate it may not change much, but if you add up 150,000 plates annually, it can make a big difference.