Sérigraphie Carpentier, a printing company based in Toulouse, France, is one of the big winners of the international competition organized by the Fespa large-format trade association. On May 24, at the Fespa Global Print Expo 2023 trade show in Munich, Germany, the 10-employee company received the Fespa Award for poster design, thanks to its work on the campaign for Rouen Tourisme.
Presented in the Paris metro, the campaign consists of five posters in 200x150 cm format, each produced in 65 copies and silkscreened.
Technical features of the Rouen Tourisme campaign
The posters, in two pieces, have the particularity of combining two inks: the left half, representing a photograph, is printed in four-color process in UV ink, and the right half is a Pantone produced in solvent ink.
uV ink is the most widely used ink for four-colour printing, because it holds the screen dot well, unlike solvent ink," explains Julien Carpentier, head of Sérigraphie Carpentier. It gives a slightly satin finish. On a large format like this, it brings a particular depth, a very pleasant rendering, which almost transforms the poster into an object."
He continues: "As for solvent ink, it's perfectly suited to solids, offering a matte rendering and a brightness to the colors that's totally unique."
The graphic designer who created this campaign, Philippe Apeloig, was absolutely determined to achieve the matte finish characteristic of traditional screen printing. He had, in fact, carried out an initial digital print, at another company, but asked for a new print, this time at Sérigraphie Carpentier, in order to obtain the rendering he wanted. "There are onlytwo of us in France who still make posters like this," he points out.
Family pride and international recognition for Sérigraphie Carpentier
This award has a special resonance for the printer. "I'm the third generation to run the company. Sérigraphie Carpentier was founded by my grandfather in 1962. originally, the company only produced screen printing, but we adapted and developed digital printing, which we know how to marry with screen printing.
In 1983, my father, who ran the company, received an 'Oscar de la sérigraphie'. I've always seen this award displayed in the office. Now, 40 years later, we're receiving this international distinction from professionals in the field. Yes, I'm very proud! Of our work, of my employees. It proves that there's still an interest in making beautiful things. And my father, who's retired now, is also particularly pleased that we're carrying on the tradition."
Sérigraphie Carpentier also achieved another feat. The other two posters entered in the competition were also selected for the final round of the Fespa Awards. One of them is an artistic poster produced in 14 passages in direct tone! at the end of the awards ceremony, one of the jurors confided to the printer that, despite the highly technical nature of this fine art printing, they had preferred to highlight a less confidential poster.
The Fespa Awards went to another Frenchman, or rather, a Frenchwoman, Léa Saint-Jeveint, a student at the Société d'Enseignement Professionnelle du Rhône. d'Enseignement Professionnelle du Rhône (SEPR), who received the Young Star Award dedicated to young employees, trainees and students.
