For a 2015 marketing initiative, Xerox wanted to show off the capabilities of its iGen 5 digital press: its first to offer a fifth color. To do so, they appropriated images of ballet dancers for a series of three posters promoting a fictitious dance studio. The 14.33 x 26″ pieces feature stunning photography and printing that capture a number of subtle details, particularly the chalk dust particles trailing and enveloping the dancers.
“The images [evoke] emotion; turning them into a fictitious dance studio took away some of that,” explains Xerox’s Paul Miller. “Putting in a quote and highlighting certain words brought emotion back in.” Indeed, the decisions made on which words to highlight – “artist,” “song” and “beautiful,” for example – go a long way toward lending the prints their power.
The posters were printed by Xerox PSI in Webster, NY on the Xerox iGen 5 press using gamut extension green (CMYK + green). The paper — Xerox Eclipse Uncoated Natural 107 lb. Cover — has a light metallic sheen that further enhances the ethereal quality of the photographs.
Miller says the design highlights of the piece include the use of a fifth color, the 26″ sheet, and the way the images are framed. The project taught the design team that adjusting tonal range adds shape and dimension. And it’s a lesson to other designers that you don’t have to sacrifice quality with digital printing.
