trendspotting: overprinting

Overprinting, one of the trends I noticed last year at the National Stationery Show (NSS) and New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) is really starting to hit mainstream. I think the overprinting trend was influenced a lot by, ahem, letterpress (okay, okay, and screen printing).

Because every color you print costs money (additional plates, additional passes through the press, more wasted paper), a lot of printers use the less is more approach, and overlap two inks to create a third (i.e. yellow and blue make green).

It’s a technique that can be simulated in flat printed artwork by utilizing the transparency filter in Illustrator, and I’m seeing A LOT of it lately (including in my own work … look for Delphine Christmas cards this year using overprinted text and artwork). 

John even used this technique last weekend while coloring Easter Eggs! He has a lot more patience than I do. I like to color on the eggs with white crayon then let them sit in a single color. Boring, huh? 

I’m excited to head off to NSS next month. I predict a lot more overprinting at the show this year, as well as nautical stripes, anchors, ikat and other patterns pulled from textiles, yellow, yellow, yellow, dark teal, metallics and pennants/flags. 

<<<IMAGES>>> Alphabet print by Ryan Beshar via OhDeeOh   GAP Sale eblast     Overprinted wedding invitations by Erin Jang     Elum thank you card on the cover of Stationery Trends magazine     Easter eggs by John at Delphine.