What did you produce?

To commemorate the occasion, Wallpaper* commissioned a run of 220,000 B2-size posters, each of which would be slightly different in design, using HP’s groundbreaking Mosaic personalisation technology. The issue was sent to subscribers in more than 90 countries.

What did it entail?

FE Burman used its Indigo 10000 to print the posters over a period of around 10 days. They were then inserted into a run of 110,000, two posters per issue. At more than 500 pages it was the magazine’s biggest ever issue. The paper used was Fedrigoni Arcoprint.

The posters were personalised using HP’s SmartStream Mosaic software, which enabled each one to be completely individual.

Design agency Spin used 12 original variants of the same design, changing background gradation and infusing numbers with typographical expression to make the most of the technology.

FE Burman managing director Michael Burman highlighted the collaborative nature of the project. 

“Lots of things have come together to make this possible, the quality, the processing, it all starts with an original idea and then everybody gets together to come and solve it,” he said.

“This is fundamental to the success of the industry’s future.”

What challenges were overcome?

Burman said: “The biggest challenge was getting the client to understand the project and therefore see the value in it. We were presenting to them something [new] which they then had to say ‘Okay, I understand, it makes sense’.”

What was the feedback?

Wallpaper creative director Sarah Douglas initially approached FE Burman director Paul Regan with the idea.

Douglas said: “We have worked for over a decade closely with FE Burman on all of our special projects. They are progressive printers who never think a job is too big. In fact, they get excited about the work when we suggest that most would shudder at.”