Plakat

Notes from the studio.

Short posts about paper, framing and making prints. Open one to read it.

June 2026, 3 min read

Why we ship flat

Tubes are cheaper to post, but we stopped using them. Here's why.

A printer lifting a fresh print off the press in a bright studio
The studio, before posting orders.

When you roll a print into a tube, it stays curled for weeks. The corners lift, it won't sit flat in a frame, and you have to leave it under a pile of books overnight. We shipped prints in tubes for one month, then stopped.

Shipping flat takes more work and costs more. Each print goes between two boards inside a stiff envelope, so nothing bends. It costs us more to post than a tube, but the print arrives ready to frame.

It's also easier for you. There's no curl to fight. You take the print out, hold it by the edges, and it's already flat.

So far, not one flat parcel has come back creased. That's why we do it.

May 2026, 4 min read

How to choose a wall

Where you hang a print matters more than you'd think. A few simple tips.

Someone hanging a framed print, with paper templates taped to the wall
A simple wall with space around the print.

People spend ages choosing a print, then hang it in the first empty spot they find. It's better to choose the wall first. A simple print in the right place looks better than a bold one in the wrong place.

Start with the light. Prints look best in soft daylight or under a warm lamp, not in direct sun. If it's comfortable to read a book there, it's a good spot for a print.

Next, give it space. One print with empty wall around it looks intentional. The same print squeezed between a clock and a light switch looks messy. If you're not sure, hang one thing and leave space around it.

Last, get the height right. The middle of the picture should be at eye level, about 145 cm from the floor. Hang it for someone standing up.

April 2026, 4 min read

Printing Monsoon Terrace

How we got one tricky yellow right across 150 prints.

Monsoon Terrace poster: a saffron sun behind slanting rain, above a pale terrace
Monsoon Terrace · edition of 150.

The original is a small acrylic painting with a bright yellow near the top. It's hard to capture in a photo. On screen it glows, but on our first test print it came out dull and a bit green.

Getting that yellow right took a week. The problem was the paper, which soaked up one ink faster than the others. We warmed up the colours in the file, reduced the green, printed a test and checked it again in daylight. It took eight test prints before it matched the painting.

Then we had to keep it the same across 150 prints. The ink is stable, but paper changes with the weather, and a humid day can shift the colour. We printed over two mornings, checked every tenth print against the approved test, and threw away four that didn't match.

It's the hardest print we've made, and the one I'm proudest of.