Inkjet & Digital Printing

FE Burman and HP Indigo power Sonys FES Watch U launch at London Design Festival

Monday 08. October 2018 - F.E. Burman, a London-based printer specialising in design-led, creative and innovative print, has collaborated with Sony Design and HP to launch FES Watch U, a new e-paper watch powered by Sony.

Announced at the London Design Festival, users can change the design of the watch face and strap at the push of a button, giving the freedom for truly unique personalisation. As well as access to over 100 different templates by artists and designers, users can create their own inimitable design for both the face and strap via a bespoke app. 
Print, and HPSmartStream Mosaic software, played a central role in creating the designs for the launch event, held at the G.F. Smith Show Space in Fitzrovia. Graphic Artist Rob Lowe, who goes by the moniker ‘Supermundane,’ created 1,440 unique prints using HP Indigo technology – one for each minute of the day.
Richard Small, Art Director at Sony, commented, “HP played a big role in planning the launch of this product. In order to communicate the infinite possibilities of the watch, I wanted to use the infinite possibilities of digital print, and this was made a reality thanks to the HP Indigo and SmartStream Mosaic technology. Traditional methods of printing white ink would not have made the end result possible,” he continued. “The HP Indigo digital presses at F.E. Burman allowed us to create something truly unique that brings the product to life.”
Working with F.E. Burman to create the 1,440 unique posters – which made up the art installation – was a dream that became a reality by using HP SmartStream Mosaic software. With 12 types of black paper from G.F. Smith in a range of weights and embossings as the canvas, three hits of white HP ElectroInk gave each poster a bold look. In addition to the white ink, black ink was also printed on the black substrate to create a subtle, but very clea pattern that married all of the individual posters together as a single canvas.
 
“I absolutely love the HP SmartStream Mosaic software. The concept of having something unique is what the FES Watch U is all about, and this software made creating something unique impossibly easy,” Small added. “We are taking our experience from this project and applying it to retail with 20,000 one-of-a-kind postcards printed by F.E. Burman, that promote the watch and will give users a canvas to create unlimited designs for their watch.”
Paul Regan of F.E. Burman added, “We love pushing the boundaries of our HP Indigo presses and when a customer comes to us with a project like this, we get very excited. Using G.F. Smith Black Plike & Colorplan Ebony embossed papers, we were able to produce an amazing result using only white and black ink. The HP SmartStream Mosaic software was the secret to the beauty of the end result.”
The installation was on display at the G.F. Smith Show Space from 17-21 September for London Design Festival.