Bread printing!

My initial idea of printing on bread by embossing and toasting has hit a massive hurdle. I needed to create a stamp to make the impression, for ease and availablility I was going to create my stamp out of potato. When trying to create this I realised my design was way too complicated to carve!

I have been desperately trying to think of another way to create this stamp in the time available. I need to create my image by tommorow as that is my personal deadline set for this, after I need to design the packaging and also design my bookmark and promotional material.

Ideally this stamp would be created from wood, plastic or metal and would be reusable many times. In the time available I will have to adapt my idea. Someone suggested that I create a stencil instead and toast the bread that way.. leavig the sections of bread covered untoasted. This would create a similar effect, however I wanted the packaged bread to have the indentation on so that it has an interactive feel with the customer, when toasted brand appears. I am continuing to break through this barrier and find a solution. I have too much of a grasp on my idea to ket it fail!

By using a beauty accessory I thought it was the perfect size to indent my bread...

Erm... no! Illegible. 
























Hello Photoshop
I really didn't want to use too much digital techniques but it seems at this stage it is my last resort. By taking two identical images (untoasted and toasted) I could composite my ideal image.

Alterations need to be made to the lightness of the bread image and also thickness of the letterforms.

Experimenting with a previous typeface (my least favourite!) it is better due to the thickness but still not legible enough. 





















Photoshop just doesn't give me the effect I wanted to create and if I do use Photoshop to create my imagery, I will need to have a rethink about the design as it just doesn't look right at all.

Hello cling film
It was worth a try! As I found previously it is hard to creat any detail on the bread due to the flakeyness of it. I tried to think of a way to make the bread flat like paper. (Such as Mr Bingo did with his skateboard project). By putting a sheets of cling film over the bread you can still see it but I have a flat canvas to create my typography.

Initially it is easier to create detail on this material.
















My concern with this method is the finished look of a cling film covered piece of toast. Also there will probably not have enough contrast between the toast and the typography. On bread it might work well but on toast would be different due to the darkness of the toast and the darkness of the condiments creating the type.

Hello huge bread
I was in need of more inspiration so I went back onto Alison Carmichaels website (my main inspiration for this project) and looked through her work with food and typography (see my recent post on DC). I thought how she must create her work with food and I guess she does it on a larger scale. A lightbulb just light up in my head!

Large scale indentation.

Large scale typography toast.

















Well... yay! This produces the effect I was after and I can improve the legibility further by increasing the size even more and experimenting with ways to make the bread less flakey.

Hello hot and cold
I need to make the bread more like a solid rather than a sponge. Presently when I try to indent it, it doesn't just take the sample I press down, but also some bread from around it, creating a blurry effect. I need a way to make the line cleaner. I exposed the bread to hot and cold, as both these make the bread firmer.

Exposed to cold, then indented, then toasted.

Exposed to heat, then indented, then toasted.























Sorted! When the bread is slightly toasted before the indentation is made, the best responds better and the image is much clearer than if no or colder temperature is applied. Match this with my large scale printing method and I am certainly getting there! Enough experimenting.