How We Create These Wonderful Posters

Procurement

The process of creating one of our wonderful posters starts with obtaining the original artwork. Be it advert or other publication.

Having been involved (in a very part time capacity) with the restoration of Lambretta scooters since the 60s, the first adverts came from my own stock of Service and Sales literature. This soon ran out and further supplies now come from car-boot sales, specialist markets, flee markets, junk shops, etc. and of course, good old eBay. The rarity of these publications (some now over 50 years old) does tend to put a high price tag on them, but bargains can still sometimes be obtained.

This is a list of some of the magazines we have used to obtain the original advert:
Autocar magazine, Country Life magazine, Jet Set magazine, John Bull magazine, Motor Cycle magazine, Motor Cycling magazine, Motor Cyclist magazine, Motor magazine, Motor Sport magazine, Motorcycle Mechanics magazine, Motorcycle, Scooter & Three-Wheeler Mechanics magazine, Scooter & Three Wheeler magazine, Scooter with Power and Pedal magazine, The Tatler magazine, Three Wheeler magazine.
Many of these magazines are no longer published, some have changed name (and direction) and some still thrive.

In addition to magazines, many original artwork has been taken from Sales brochures and other publications created by such companies as:
Ford Motor Company Ltd, UK, Innocenti Corporation, USA, Innocenti, Metallurgical and Mechanical General Company, Milan, Italy, Lambretta Concessionaires Ltd, UK.
These lists are not complete, as some original advertising have long since lost any identity. In some cases even dating can be a challenge.

The physical condition (with limits) is not as important as the content of the artwork. Even torn, crumpled and stained copies can usually be restored.

Copied, Digitised and Enhanced

The chosen artwork is then digitised, by copying it in to a computer using a high resolution scanner. 600 d.p.i. (dots per inch) is used to ensure even the finest of detail is captured.
This usually creates a file in excess of 100MB, which is stored in 'TIF' format. (Tag Image File Format). TIFF is the leading commercial and professional image standard.

To allow for easier manipulation of the image, it is 'broken down' into smaller components where possible. On some sales literature where actual photographs are used, this is often not possible. But on most adverts then 'whole' can be broken down into, for instance: top text, bottom text, logo, main image, etc.
This 'breaking down' is carried out by digitally cutting the part required from the main image and creating a sub-image. These sub-images are then worked on, using a lot of skill and some specialised software.
The time taken to restore these images depends largely on the condition of the original, but can take several days to complete.

You will have noticed many of our advert posters sport modern, full colouring, obviously something that would not have been practical at the date of publication. Using our discretion (and a little bit of artistic licence) colour is added to these black and white (light grey and dark grey) originals to give the poster a modern feel, while maintaining the original look.

Once we are happy with the result of our sub-images, the whole image is then rebuilt. Some small adjustments are then applied, if required, to ensure the finished poster is correct and of the right size.
The image is then copied onto CD for printing.

Printing

The final poster is printed using a local digital print company. These take the image directly from CD and produce a quality poster.

We have opted for a heavy-weight, silk-finish card poster as this gives a final size similar to the original (in most cases) and they can be mounted direct into a frame.