Screen printing at Ink Lounge

The wife and I took Nicki and Stuart Alden's screen printing class at their studio, Ink Lounge, in Denver this weekend. We had an amazing time. We would highly recommend the class to anyone.
Having been in the offset printing industry for so long, it was awesome learning other techniques. Plus, it was great getting our hands dirty.
It's tough trying to design a 8"x13" piece of art that you would want to look at all year long. So I went with my go-to...

...Abe Lincoln riding a buffalo.

Check out more images and the art from our classmates here.
Learn more about Ink Lounge and their offerings here.

Thanks Nicki and Stu!

Boulder is the "brainiest" city in the U.S. of A!

According to Portfolio.com, Boulder is the brainiest city in the United States. The basis for honor?
"Portfolio.com used U.S. Census Bureau data to analyze the levels of educational attainment in 200 metros, ranging in size from New York City to Burlington, Vermont."
Gotta love seeing Boulder represent!

Click here to read the article and here to see what cities made the top 25.

This clip from The Simpsons really sums up our excitement at this news...

The Paperless Diploma

Lots of good info at Domtar's Paper Because site.

How Ink Is Made

This is a great video that we stumbled upon on at The Boston Egotist, the sister sight of our favorite blog, The Denver Egotist. We're passionate about printing because of its fusion of artistry, craftsmanship and science. This video captures that passion.

Couldn't We All Use Some More Fridays?

We recently collaborated with Philosophy Communications to print adhesive labels that commemorate the new menu at Denver-area TGIFriday's All American Bar and Grills. We printed the stickers (which were then placed on ceramic plates) on our brand new, state-of-the-art Canon ImagePRESS C6000 which is perfect for high-quality, short-run print jobs.

Hot off the Press: The Fall 2010 Portfolio Magazine for the CU Leeds School of Business

Hot off the Press your Fall 2010 Portfolio Magazine from Leeds School of Business on Vimeo.

Reflections from the 2010 ADCD Annual Show

We had a great time at the Art Directors Club of Denver Annual Show last week. The MC (Naughty Pierre from Lannie's Clock Tower Cabaret) was hilarious, the trophies were beautiful, the crowd was great and the work was inspiring. We were honored to be presented with the bronze medal in Print Excellence for a book we collaborated on with our good friend Keith Harley from Communication Arts, Inc.
While we are very proud of the recognition we received for our work with Comm Arts, there is one aspect of this year's show that we are even more pleased about. D&K printed more of the award winning pieces in this year's show than any other printer. The award winning pieces include Comm Arts' Vail Valley Medical Center Yearly Community Report, Motive's Native Eyewear Catalog and Vermilion's Pilatus Vantage Point Brochure.
That has me thinking about what D&K means to our clients and what we want our role to be in the Colorado marketplace.
Over the past 45 years, while newer technologies and machinery have focused on making printing quicker and cheaper, D&K has only invested in that which can do so without sacrificing an iota of our most valued principle: quality.
This commitment has earned us a reputation in our industry and we believe that the facts speak for themselves. In 2010, when artists looked for a printer to team up with for their high-end projects (soon to be ADCD award winning work), more people chose D&K than any other printer.

We want to thank everyone for putting their trust and faith in D&K. We understand how much you invest in your projects and we don't take lightly the responsibility that we take on as your chosen printer.

I Need A Wintervention

Every year around this time, I start getting that inch...no not VD. Ski season is just around the corner. Time to renew my ski pass, hit up Sniagrab and start buddying up to my friend's with places in the mountains.
But now the true sign that ski season is upon us: Warren Miller Entertainment has released the movie trailer for their 61st installment. We at D&K have been fortunate to print for Warren Miller for the past several years and around our shop Warren Miller season is in full swing.
We can't wait to see the new flick "Wintervention" when it hits town...

Printing Eldora Mountain Resort's 2010-2011 Season Ski Maps

Eldora holds a special place in the heart of any true Boulderite. Its the place we learned to ski and still frequent. We are proud to print this season's trail maps.

D&K in the ADCD Annual Show

We just received word that D&K placed in the category of Print Excellence in the Art Directors Club of Denver Annual Show! We will find out what place we got at the show in September.

 We produced the piece with Communication Arts in Boulder for their client The Vail Valley Medical Center.

UPDATE: Our friends at Vermilion Design just informed us that we won an award for this piece we did with them for Pilatus Aircrafts, as well

R.I.P to D&K's delivery truck

The wind in Boulder this weekend took out one of the large Cottonwood trees that line the creek behind our shop.
Our delivery truck took the brunt of the fall...

The view before the tree removal company got to work on Monday.

The view from inside the cab.

The tree is so large that it almost reached our delivery car, 

which was parked on the side of the building.

It was tall enough to fall across both of our shipping docks 

and cause damage to the roof.

While we're saddened to lose our great delivery truck, we are very happy that the tree chose to come down when no one was near by.

 The dock area is a popular spot during break time and for shipments/deliveries throughout the day.

Folding +2,000,000 Denver Broncos Pocket Schedules

Check us out - Boulder's #1 Commercial Printer

See the whole list at: http://tinyurl.com/27zfhwh

Check us out - Boulder's Top Ten Family Owned Businesses

Sure we're number 10, but that is still in the Top 10.

From the Boulder County Business Report (http://www.bcbr.com)

Marvelous March

 Now a week into April, we at D&K are fully realizing what a great month March was for us. We added equipment, capabilities, staff and produced some amazing work.
 Here is an update of what we were up to last month. A big thanks goes out to all that made it happen.

•  We hired a new Customer Service Representative, Jim Crewdson, a former employee of L&M Pressworks (which was seized by the government in June) and a new head pressman for our 40” 4-color press.
•  We increased our map producing capabilities by purchasing a 40” map folder. Giving us the capability to fold 40” wide sheets down to a size that will fit in your pocket.
•  After experimenting with new technologies in ink and vinyl substrates, we have added vinyl printing to our skill set.
•  The purchase of an automated wire-o machine will make the production of wire-o bound books faster and cheaper.

When we count our blessings at D&K, there is much to be grateful for.  While, in this economy, our staff is smaller than it used to be, the talent of our group is at record highs. The quality of the work we have been producing is among the best in Colorado and we would gladly compare it to that of our competitors.
 From business cards to annual reports to posters to brochures, we continue to make your projects look better and provide unmatched service along the way.

 Now is a pivotal time for D&K and for the printing industry. We want to make sure that you all know that its times like these when we shine. We are eager for an opportunity to prove to all of our great customers and the great companies that don’t use us yet, that D&K is still producing great work after more than 45 years in Boulder. And our eagerness and ability to provide excellent printing is as strong as ever. 

  

ADCD Paper Fashion Show

We had an amazing time at the ADCD Paper Fashion Show last night. 

Click here to see more of our images.

Top 6 Communication Tips When Working With Commercial Printers

We love keeping up with what our clients and friends are reading. That is why we subscribe to Margie's Print Tips. The author, Margie Dana, is an east coast print buyer with a great newsletter and blog about how buyers can get more out of their vendors and projects.

We especially liked today's print tip...

Top 6 Communications Tips
when Working with Commercial Printers

Common-Sense Guidelines for Print Buyers & Creatives

By Margie Dana

1. Give your printer as much detail as you can, as early as you can.
   You need to provide very detailed job specs (specifications) if you want a fair estimate. It will help prevent "surprises" when the job is done (I'm using air quotes in this sentence). Remember, every print job is unique. It's built spec by spec.
2. Tell your printer how you prefer to be communicated with.
   Ideally, your printer will ask you, but if not, be clear about how often he or she should be in touch with you during production, and by what means. Some people prefer phone calls; others, email.
3. Do everything in writing.
   Job specs change during the production cycle (quantities & delivery instructions, for example), and you need to keep track. Changes can affect your price. Paper trails (or email trails) are critical.
4. Admit what you don't understand, and seek a clearer explanation from your printer.
   I never understand people who are too proud to speak up and say, "I have no idea what that means," when they hear a too-technical explanation. Printing has a language all its own. If anything is unclear about what's happening with your job, just say so.
5. Make your priorities crystal clear.
   Different jobs have different priorities. Is it the delivery date? The quality? The cost? Out with it! Again, your printer should ask you, but if not, make sure you bring it up.
6. Ask your printer for input & creative suggestions.
   You may know exactly what you want and why, but perhaps you don't. It's extremely smart business to ask your printer for ideas. Maybe there's a better way (more creative, more cost effective, quicker, "greener," and so on) to produce what you want. Maybe a different paper would work better. In my mind, this is where the real value of a printing company lies: in how they assist in getting you the best product possible, to match your budget and your expectations. Get your printers involved, as opposed to merely giving them "job orders."

Work we love

There is nothing we love more than seeing the work of our favorite people out in the world. We noticed Adrenalin Inc.'s Denver Bronco's 50th Anniversary logo everywhere this season - from billboards to posters to bumper stickers. The logo also got some love from the Denver Business Journal. Last week we found a set of skis whose owner dug the logo, too.

KNOW YOUR SPECS: Successful print projects start with good specs

Below is the second edition of a new series of guest blogs from D&K's clients. Our aim is to have a guest publish a new column each week with helpful advice, criticisms, forecasts, etc. Stay tuned. If you're interested in being a guest blogger for the column, please contact us at blog@dkprinting.com. 
Let us know what you think about our blogs by posting comments at the bottom of the page.
The author (the same author as our first guest blog post) buys nearly one million dollars worth of printing each year and has been in the industry for more than 10 years.
Enjoy....


Writing good print project specifications is the foundation for building a successful project. If you do not pull together all of the specifications, you are starting off on the wrong foot. Which immediately opens the door for errors, assumptions and construed interpretations.

Here are my guidelines for writing specs that will start your project off on the right foot: