Printed by FE Burman, the Fedrigoni 366 calendar – so called for the 366 days in 2024’s leap year – was designed by studio TM, which worked with 731 creatives from the UK and across the world to make each copy unique.
Over two million individual vector files were generated for the project, giving FE Burman a challenging job, according to Ade Onabanjo, one of the firm’s directors.
He told Printweek: “It was a very challenging and interesting project, pushing the boundaries of production.”
The London-based creative print specialist produced 3,000 copies of the calendar overall, with 1,500 printed with a green palette, and 1,500 in an orange palette using FE Burman’s HP Indigo 12000.
Onabanjo said: “Basically, with 460 pages in each calendar, we were looking at over two million files."
FE Burman used the PrintOS composer server from HP for the complex task. “That was the only way we could RIP all the variable data on the files,” Onabanjo explained.
The designs themselves were generated using HP’s Mosaic generative colour design software, the first time it has been used at this scale. Mosaic effectively shuffles colours within a set design to give different results each time.
The fact that the calendar was printed on 10 different Fedrigoni substrates, treated specifically for use with HP Indigo machines, presented another complication in the intricate job.
Among them was one single page printed on Sirio Ultra Black to represent 2024’s leap day in February.
Ambra Fridegotto, Fedrigoni Paper UK’s marketing manager, said: “Digital printing is fast and efficient, but we wanted to show how it can also be incredibly creative and diverse, both with the content and with the paper selection.
“Fedrigoni has a swatch dedicated to stocks suitable for HP Indigo printing, which makes the paper selection process much easier.
“The hardest part for us was narrowing down which papers to use but we managed to choose a variety of white stocks with different shades, textures, and features. I also love the small surprise we added for the leap year using Sirio Ultra Black.”
Danny McNeil, creative director at TM, said: “There is something really special about the link between all the designs this year.
“The restrictions around colour mean that there is a consistent visual thread that runs through all entries.”
The calendar, launched at Fedrigoni’s 12 and 13 December event at London’s Crafts Council, is available for sale now, with profits donated to Save the Children.
