Killer app: designers learn wizard skills

Having developed weird and wonderful props for the Harry Potter films together since 2001, graphic design duo MinaLima (Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima) set up an online store, The Printorium, to print and sell replicas of their original pieces, such as The Marauder's Map and an edition of The Daily Prophet newspaper.

What did the job entail?

To give Potter fans the opportunity to own a memoir of the films, MinaLima produced four prints for The Harry Potter Collection, with limited print runs of 1,000 copies, and four prints for The Harry Potter Premium Collection in runs of 250, which also featured gold foiling.

How was it produced?
The images were printed on an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 24-inch printer, which was bought especially for the project, using i1 Photo Pro software.

The pieces were printed on Hahnemuehle Photo Rag 308gsm stock and hand embossed using dies cut with MinaLima’s logo design. Mina and Lima both individually signed and numbered each print for the Premium Collection.

What challenges were overcome?
Setting up an entirely new print facility for the project meant that both designers had to learn to operate the machines quickly. Mina said: "It felt like a big leap and we did waste quite a bit of paper experimenting!"

What was the feedback?
One buyer of The Daily Prophet print said: "I am extremely impressed with the quality of the project, it is truly a work of art. I have already framed it and am waiting for the perfect place to hang it."