Printing. Design. Photos.

Well, we’ve been getting busy working on all kinds of new developments.

As with most growth, it takes a leap of faith to make any progress. And as with most things in life, everything tends to happen at once when you decide to make big changes.

Emergent beauty in the Universe

The Universe strives for ever greater complexity, which is not without its challenges. But what emerges is always something of beauty.

Since we’re in the mode of transitions and transforming our lives for the better with all of our latest efforts, it’s only fitting we do this now. It’s been gestating for a couple months so it seemed time to begin the big reveal.

So we’re pleased to announce that with our most recent merger the emergence of a whole new kind: the most efficient and highly detailed 3D printing ever invented!

You may have heard of this technology before, but it’s nothing like what we’ve co-created here. Feather (Joe) and Fox (Rhiannon) worked together with the intention of bringing something new into the world – something truly unique that only could come from their combined efforts.

The awesome thing about this 3D printing technology that makes it so special it that it uses completely organic carbon-based filaments – the individual particles are even made of star stuff!

Carbon matrix created by 3D printer

Materials derived directly from stars!

Using precision lines of code, the complex programming takes resources generated completely naturally within the printer itself.

It’s a highly efficient kind of code, which when paired with the latest in storage innovations allows up to 215 petabytes (215 million gigabytes) of data per gram of storage particles to be utilized for print processing without any lossy compression artifacts! In fact, the script only uses four distinct characters in unique combinations to manifest the entire print! Talk about efficient!

Efficient code using only 4 base characters

Pairing the latest in intelligence technology with 3D printing is what makes our invention so amazing.

The output is a miraculously self-replicating form generated by original code, with its own integrated intelligence! The only caveat is that after the self-replicating phase begins, it’s no longer up to the user to guide the process of printing – it is essentially up to the universe to reveal whatever emerges.

The code manifested in matter

You might say it has a mind of its own, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves (there is still a lot of public apprehension around artificial intelligence, we have to be careful with our language here)…

A common trait of all good technology is the inventible nature of delays. While the basic elements are in place, we have to wait a while before revealing the final output to the general public. And as much as we’d love to launch sooner, our approximate release date will be in the fall, around November 20, 2017.

We had hoped to bring this to the fore much earlier, but as with all labors of love, it will be worth the wait, we promise!

The final version will combine many recognizable characteristics of its inventors while being an entirely unique and individual output.

What really blew our minds when we discovered this incredible method was that the base technology is actually over 3.8 billion years old! Relatively recent upgrades to the process (primarily software patches and updates using the same generic hardware) date back to about 2 million years ago.

Wait a second, you say…2 Million years?

This must be a joke, right?

Well. Kind of.

While developments in organic 3D printing ARE  actually really cool – and real! – it’s not something that Fine Balance Imaging will be offering as a service.

What we ARE excited to announce is exactly what we said above: a new development.

If you hadn’t guessed already…Rhiannon and Joe are bringing a new emergent phenomenon into their lives – one that indeed has been a process the Universe has been working on for a very long time.

We’re having a baby!

We’ll keep you posted on more to come as things, uh, develop. ;) Make sure you Like our Facebook Page for Fine Balance Imaging as well as Feather & Fox to stay apprised of any news!

We are…adapting. And quickly. It’s all good. The pace of “copy center” life versus “fine art printing” life is quite different, but not bad. And to boot, we’re of course still doing all of the fine art reproductions, photographic printing, and graphic design work that we’ve always done. We’re just now also cranking out hundreds or thousands of other printed sheets of paper every day on top of that.

Which brings me to our newest capability, with which I’ve just now had the adventure of prototyping and producing a final product: bookmaking. Not the comb binding “8th grade book report” look. Not the wire binding “sales presentation look”. No, we’re talking about actual soft-cover perfect-bound books.

And I just made one. Well, four actually. In the better part of an hour total. Which is honestly really, really cool. I’m kind of excited.

And…I just checked my quick estimate on our pricing of said books against Magcloud and Blurb and such…and it’s comparable within about a dollar…and, of course, here there’s no shipping charges. So that’s pretty cool too.

The project came in the door like any other quick-copy kind of job. Or so I thought. I ran of some test prints from a Word document and thought we were done. The fellow needed some tech/layout help in putting the cover into a proper format for uploading to the site he was going to order his books from. I did the job, thought I was done, but in the course of conversation, since he was not tech-literate, it came up that he was confused by the process and the file types and the paper choices and rather bummed he couldn’t see a proof or have any control over the process by just uploading a PDF and hoping for the best.

I offered that I could try prototyping the book using our perfect binding glue machine and our big stack cutter, just so he could see it in person before ordering. I didn’t really anticipate he’d be ordering from us.

It wasn’t too tough, though there was a learning curve and some cursing involved in the first few stacks I glued and put covers on…luckily they were just unprinted plain paper, so I wasn’t wasting ink. Try, try again and it came out great.

Aligning the cover to be scored

Scoring the cover

The scored cover

Scored and folded covers

Jogging the paper to straighten for gluing

Clamping the book block to be glued

Clamped book block and cover

Roughening the page edges of the book block

Gluing the book block

Clamping the glued cover

Covers ready to be trimmed

Covers ready to be trimmed

Trimming the cover and book block

Aligning stack to be trimmed

Blocking in the stack so it’s square

One side trimmed, two to go

Finished book stack front

Finished book stack backs

Finished book stack

printed by Fine Balance Imaging & Printing

Published and printed by Fine Balance Imaging & Printing

I’d love to look in to other cover stocks and find out about all the lovely textures and finishes of interior paper stocks we could offer in the near future, but for now, these books look slick and professional. Just as if we’d ordered them online.

That’s pretty awesome.

Oh. Did I mention? We’re open for business. Yeah, still waiting on our signs to put up outside, but we are most definitely fully open for business. I’ve heard from a number of clients that some other businesses around town assumed both Whidbey Island Printing and Fine Balance Imaging…and Feather & Fox…had all gone out of business. I can assure you that is not the case! We’re here, we’re open, and ready to do…well…just about anything that involves printing!

Come see us. We miss you! :) And while you’re at it…you should really think about finishing that book you’ve been meaning to publish. I know a guy that can make it for you. ;)

And while you’re at it…you should really think about finishing that book you’ve been meaning to publish. I know a guy that can make it for you. ;)

We’re almost done…come visit!

Since everyone is asking, this will be a super quick update: Yes, we’re almost done with everything in the new location. (more…)

Before…

And after…

It feels like we have a long way to go, but at the same time, it will go quickly once we jump back in. The major hold-up happened a few weeks ago while we waited on the landlord to make a choice as to whether he was going to build a condo upstairs in the old department store space – it delayed us about two weeks as we awaited the estimate on the required installation on a sprinkler system that would have meant tearing out the entire ceiling in our new space…and over an extra month delay. We were only able to get back in there to continue our work – and get a proper permit to do so – this week. So, yes, delays. Bummer.

Some progress photos:

Also, did I mention that finding an electrician on this island that is both rated for commercial and isn’t booked out 6 months is extremely difficult? We’re hoping we can get the electrical work done in the next two weeks. Then we’ll tackle our drywall, mudding, sanding, priming, painting, flooring, and building all of our shelving and half our furniture. Which, of course can all be done in, like, two weeks, right? ;)

more before…

and after…

We’ve done amazing things before and have surprised ourselves with our ability to do “all the things” in record time (like that time a couple of years ago that we decided to open a new business while running our current one and built all of our own furniture in under a month?)… So, here’s to Being Amazing (one of Rhiannon’s favorite shirts says just that…well…it says “Be Amazing”…close enough) and to Making it Happen! We’ll try to keep you posted as we get closer. It’s been quite the adventure so far…and will likely be a wild ride all the way to the finish…

Also a shout-out to Sharon Rose at Whidbey Island Printing, whose business and services we are consolidating into the new “Fine Balance Imaging & Printing“…she has been overly patient with our process of figuring out just how to get there!

It’s a big change for all of us, but also a great growth opportunity for everyone involved. We’re extremely excited to be adding on a whole range of services that have always been provided by what used to be Boomerang, and has been Whidbey Island Printing & Office Supplies for the last five years or so.

Stay tuned as we add on the full gamut of services that you’ve come to know and love at Boomerang/Whidbey Island Printing over the years:

Full-service color copies – now with over-sized booklet making (up to 9×12), saddle-stitched and folded in any quantity

Brochures printed in-house – folded in-line automatically for lower costs, any quantity

Architectural and blueprint copies – NEW Full-Color plan/blueprint scanning and Full-Color plans/blueprint copying

Binding – NEW Perfect Binding – make your own softcover or hardcover book, or simply increase the quality of your presentation beyond standard comb and wire binding

Large Format Banners, Signs, Displays, Murals – New EcoSolvent commercial printing up to 54″ wide by any length, durable outdoor banners and signs, window displays, store displays, and custom cut shapes in any full-color sign or stickers

And, of course, you’ll still find all of the fine art and photo printing services we’ve offered at Fine Balance Imaging for over a decade, including all of the new metal printing, ceramic tiles, full-color apparel and more!

Rhiannon also has big plans for the new Feather & Fox storefront, which will be the first area you experience at the front of our expanded space, including new independent artists works, greeting cards, stationery, apparel, and a line of exciting books and magazines too – alongside the office supplies that have been available at Whidbey Island Printing, and new select art supplies to inspire your creativity! See you soon in our new digs! -Joe and Rhiannon and Nancy (and all the other folks helping us get there)

So…we’re moving the whole operation to what locals refer to as “the old Lind’s Jewelry space” in Langley. Yeah – that space next door to Whidbey Island Bank, downstairs…on 1st street.

The inside as it was left…needs a lot of work!

You can imagine we’re pretty excited. We started Fine Balance Imaging in a small space tucked behind the clock shop, across the alleyway from our gallery at the time (Isle of Art, for those that remember). And then the big move about 9 years ago was to Bayview into a whole 400 square feet in the Cash Store. And then to a larger space when Goosefoot gave up the common room to commercial use, we felt like we finally had breathing room! A whole 900 square feet! And now on to the kind of space we really need, almost 2000 sq.ft., with room for all of the production copiers and printers to be a full-service printing center, new capabilities for sign, banner and display printing, apparel printing, stickers, decals, and more…and all of our newly upgraded fine art and photo printing gear too!

Oh…and did I mention we were adding in a little co-works space too? Working with Whidbey Telecom to get a high-speed fiber optic internet line installed, we will have a nice quiet space – with a private meeting room for conference calls and client meetings – where telecommuters and freelancers can work with self-service printers at their beck-and-call, and a full-service printer with supplies to meet their every need!

Now we’ve just begun the hard work of demolition in what has been an untouched space for almost 6 years! Taking out interior windows and walls to open things up is only the first step. Then it’s on to removing the 20-year-old carpeting, and refinishing everything to make it truly ours. With the brilliant minds of three businesses put together to make way for a space infused with creativity and inspiration, I’m certain it will be an awesome interior when it’s finished.

Rhiannon cutting the trim out of the windows

Almost all of the old windows are out…

Revealing the wall framing…and removing it.

We got a wall out! Mostly…

Got all the doors off the cabinets…

All the cabinets have to go!

Stan helping take out the old cabinetry

To Recap:

Merger! Fine Balance Imaging Studios and Whidbey Island Printing and Office Supplies are consolidating services into one amazing new fine art, design and printing center with expanded business printing services (including in-house booklets, folded brochures, and magazine binding)! Plus a great selection of the office supplies Sharon has carried the last five years.

Move! Feather & Fox will expand with new products made by us, along with the independent artists’ works, cards, prints, and books you’ve come to love: and we’ll add in more books, magazines, and art supplies too!

…and a new, shall we call it…InterSpace – a co-working space for the inter-connection of creatives and collaborators, with high-speed fiber internet, private meeting room, and a multi-use space stocked with a digital whiteboard and big screens and projectors for seminars, webinars, classes and workshops.

We will keep the posts coming over the next month as we progress toward our move (and I’ll keep them shorter than this one, I promise!)

Our current timeline is to get remodeled and moved in by mid-October, with a grand re-opening toward the end of the month.

We’re so excited for this collaboration – what emerges from the creative consolidation we hope and believe will become a core part of the resurgence of the Langley business community.

  I’ll cut to the chase here, since it’s already been seeded by my other creative partner (my wife, Rhiannon) over on her blog post for Feather & Fox’s big move when she teased the idea of a merger.

Yes, a Merger!

Fine Balance Imaging and Whidbey Island Printing are merging to become one: Fine Balance Imaging & Printing.

And we’re taking Feather & Foxwith us. And we’re moving back to Langley.…