When you are given an assignment to demonstrate the awesome special effects possible on paper, you need subject matter worthy of such dazzling printing feats. Superheroes. Pirates. Bigfoot. Weird larger-than-life creatures. Spies. It didn’t take long to figure out where to find all of them in one place – at 826 National, a nonprofit network of tutoring, writing and publishing centers for kids, ages 6 to 18. The 826 centers are “disguised” as retail stores, selling gear for “real” working pirates, superheroes, time travelers, bigfoot researchers, robots and so on.

All of these characters find their way into Sappi Fine Paper’s Standard 5, a guide to designing for print, filled with tips, techniques and creative ideas. Designed by Studio Hinrichs, The Standard is a reference source for designers, demonstrating and explaining what amazing things new printing technologies can do on the right paper. The most recent Standards covered Varnish and Coatings and Folding Techniques, and the latest issue No. 5 focused on Special Effects – e.g., lenticular, sandpaper coating, blind emboss, flocking, reticulated varnish, foil stamping, glitter UV, holographic foil, scratch-and-sniff scents, die-cuts, glow-in-the-dark phosphorescent inks, etc. The Standard 5 is meant to show how tactile and inspiring ink-on-paper can be. This is a book that readers don’t simply look at, they stroke, fondle and sniff the pages and even hold the book up horizontally to examine it from every angle. Obtain your own copy of The Standard 5 by contacting your local Sappi representative.

Sappi, which has supported 826 National through its Ideas That Matter grant program, happily made it possible for 826 to use The Standard 5 and accompanying poster as promotional pieces to recruit more designers and creative professionals as volunteers. Sappi also teamed with Kit Hinrichs and 826 to unveil Standard 5 in key markets across the U.S. In cities where 826 had tutoring centers, it invited students to read poems they had written.

You can learn more about 826 and its zany retail stores — The Pirate Supply Store, Robot Supply & Repair Shop, Bigfoot Research Institute, Space Travel Supply Co., Time Travel Mart, Museum of Unnatural History, The Boring Store for Spies, and The Superhero Supply Co. – at www.826national.org.