Empire was celebrating the return of the legendary Ghostbusters franchise to the big screen in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. To mark the occasion, the production team decided they needed to get in the spirit of things and put that glorious Ghostbusters gunk on the cover of their glossy.
What was produced?
Empire publisher Bauer wanted the newsstand issue of the magazine to feature green glow-in-the-dark (GITD) varnish on the cover, and approached long-time partner Celloglas, a finishing specialist, for 10,000 printed SRA1 sheets for the issue’s covers, in two different collectors’ editions.
The 285x220mm magazine is perfect bound, with March’s issue running to 112+4pp; Bauer supplied 150gsm Eiger gloss stock for the covers, and UPM Ultra 60gsm for text pages.
What did the job entail?
William Gibbons, Bauer’s primary printer, produced the covers ahead of the normal schedule on its Komori Lithrone G40P 5/4, with an additional Pantone 802C Fluro Green, so the covers could be sent over to Celloglas to be coated before being returned for binding.
The printed sheets were supplied four-up to Celloglas along with the GITD print data, and run through the firm’s Sakurai Maestro 102A silk-screen press with a 100-mesh screen.
Trimming the sheets into singles and collating them ABAB so that each pack had equal distribution of each cover, Celloglas then returned the covers to William Gibbons, where they were bound onto the cover sections with the firm’s Kolbus Publica 18.
The magazine’s text sections were printed at William Gibbons on a Komori System 38SII 16pp web offset press.
What challenges were overcome?
Celloglas is no stranger to helping Bauer develop unusual covers, according to Steve Middleton, Celloglas’ sales director – but the March issue’s GITD cover presented an unusual problem for the team.
“The main challenge for us,” he explained, “was to check the glow was actually working”.
And despite all the firm’s high-end kit, there was only one thing for it, Middleton laughed: “We had to go into a dark broom cupboard throughout the run to check it was glowing!”
What was the feedback?
It certainly did glow; the Empire team was thrilled with its first-ever glow-in-the-dark cover – and, most importantly, so were the readers, according to Nick de Semlyen, Empire editor.
He said: “We have received appropriately glowing feedback from readers, many of whom sent us their videos of the final product in action.
“The special varnish treatment gave the issue serious blockbuster production values and garnered major buzz online, as well as praise from the Ghostbusters filmmakers, plus the studio, Sony, who requested extra copies.
“It’s been a real milestone for the brand, and we’re extremely happy with the execution from the printing team and print finisher.”
Do you have a Killer App? We are interested in special, difficult or simply fabulous print jobs of all shapes and sizes. Email printweek.newsdesk@markallengroup.com.
