I often wonder how my Christmas card has been made. From where does the design inspiration and material come from to produce what is such a common item?
It all starts with the subject, usually the artist is given the subject by their manager, or if it’s a small card company where the artist is the manager they can decided which occasions they would like to cover with their cards.
After they have decided upon the subject they start on the drawings for the card. These can range from a whole week’s worth of drawing to something that takes just minutes to do. After the final drawings are complete they will be passed onto the printer who will in turn pass them on to the colour plate marker whose role it is to separate the colours in readiness for the printing process. For cards with 3D detailing the cut out area will be passed to the die marker who creates a Die Forme in the shape of the piece to be cut out.
When it then comes down to the printing press the two processes from above are combined to form the card .First the colours are applied and then the ‘Die’ is used to cut out the 3D sections, the Die is also used to crease the card down the middle, so the card is pre folded when it comes out from the press.
Here are the timescales involved in such a process;
Concept to Prototype: – 1-2 weeks
Prototype to final Drawings: – 2-4 weeks
Finished Drawings to final print: – 2-6 weeks
Final Print to Finished product: – 1-2 weeks
Finished product in the shops: – 2-6 weeks
If you’re anything like me, you would never think that a simple card bought from an online retailer like Gift of Cards would take so long to create and manufacture, I’m just pleased I don’t have to make it myself!
