Marc Gijzen is a lithographer and regularly helps us ensure that our projects result in beautiful end results. We greatly appreciate working with Marc and are happy to introduce him to you in this interview.
Partner with NPN|Graphius
“Our collaboration is very open and honest. We appreciate each other, and by now I know almost everyone who works there. I’ve even become friends with some of them. That’s how you get to know each other in a different way.
When I’m at NPN|Graphius, I walk freely through the building. I don’t feel like a visitor; it really feels like family. The atmosphere is great, and I feel very much at home there. That’s not the case at every print shop.”
"At NPN|Graphius, they’re not afraid to be really exploratory. They give me the freedom to experiment, and we’ve already tried out a lot of things together. This print shop is always one of my first choices when I want to try something new. They give print work their full attention. To me, that’s truly a huge added value."
A lithographer, what is that?
"In short, I optimise visual material for print. That consists of two parts. The first part is technical. I ensure that the images are processed in such a way that they become predictable in the production. By this we mean that we know how the colours will turn out on the paper. The paper type is always taken into account, as it has a major influence on the final print result.
Then there is the content part. Here I work in the image to make sure it looks good. For a book or brochure, for example, it is important that there is a line in the images we use. The colours must match and there must be movement in the images. The power of the printed matter must come across well. I sit in between designers, artists and printers and bring everything together."
My work as a lithographer
"I prefer to be there early in the morning. Then I have my focus time where I work on my projects. In the morning, I work on the images and in the afternoon I go and organise. I then have contact with clients and partners and carry out press checks. The latter is very important. Setting up the press properly is of great influence on the final result. We choose a basic setting and go from there. That is always a great moment, you see the printed matter being born. I am also often present when a production is presented to the public. I really enjoy seeing the reactions."
What makes me happy
" Watching and working with images. As the son of an artist, I learned that at a young age. It is fascinating to see how images work. It is this creative side that appeals to me so much. Besides that, I really love paper and ink. That is why I once started working in a printing shop. A book has to smell good!
I also enjoy working together. I often sit together with photographers and artists. They are critical and naturally want their work to be well presented. By looking and listening with empathy, I make sure that the end result is exactly what they have in mind."
I am not afraid of a challenge
"Every production is different in terms of execution, choice of paper and size. You always start from scratch and look at how it can be presented optimally. The whole interplay remains a challenge every time. That makes it refreshing. The subjects are also different each time, which means that I have to think again and again about how I can best express the subject. I like these challenges, by the way. They ensure that I can be and remain creative and that my work is never a standard trick."
