There’s plenty of cause for celebration at Dennis Maps! We’ve successfully passed recertification for several…
Our new customer, Vice Press creates “cool stuff” that celebrates pop culture. The Sheffield-based company produces quirky collectibles, covering everything from jigsaws to its own VHS line, Vice Press Home Video. Now it’s printing a range of high-quality posters with Dennis Maps. Co-founder James Henshaw tells us more about the business and its commitment to producing exclusive designs for customers’ homes.
Tell us more about Vice Press…
Matt and I started Vice Press a decade ago. Back then, I wrote for film blogs and websites as a hobby and Matt, who’s an artist, was starting to be well known in the world of film poster art. I interviewed him for an article I was writing, and we both shared our passion for classic films and film posters. We became friends and decided to start our own gallery. It’s funded and owned by me and Matt, with no outside investment, something I’m proud of.
Originally, it was a creative outlet outside my corporate day job but it’s since grown into something I do full time. I’d always wanted to work in the pop culture space, so it was a fortuitous culmination of events. Vice Press has given me the opportunity to work on what I love.
What makes the company so unique?
We offer a huge range of stuff – that we love ourselves – like posters, art prints, pin badges, jigsaws, clothing, frames and even our own VHS line. When it comes to posters, we fill a gap in the market. We wanted to offer high quality, licensed prints at an affordable price. When we create prints, they go through the film studios and/or the creators, so we have their approval.
What’s your favourite part of running Vice Press?
The sense of achievement you feel from running the business. I also get a kick from people saying we can’t do something and then we do! Our loyal fan base is one of my favourite parts of what we do too.
What’s your favourite product?
We did a poster for Evil Dead II with James Bousema, an artist who usually designs album covers for heavy metal bands. I really love that poster! It’s fun and a bit silly but it tells the story of the film. A close second would have to be John Carpenter’s They Live by artist Florey. It looks like an 80’s fashion mag but the models are the aliens from the movie!
How do you decide which posters to design and sell?
We want to create posters that we’d put up on walls in our own homes and that represent the film. When it comes to reproducing posters, we start with films and TV shows Matt and I are fans of and know well. Then we ask ourselves some questions to work out if we can recreate the posters: Does the film or show have a piece of iconic artwork? If so, can we reproduce it to a high quality? Does the studio have assets we can use and/or can we afford to buy the original to work from?
For new art, we look for projects we love. When choosing an artist, we go for ones who have a reverence for the film or show, plus whose work we appreciate and that suits the film or show.
Can you tell us more about working with Dennis Maps?
Matt and I wanted to print large format posters for a long time but we’re particular with how we print them. We want our posters to be high quality, as close to the posters you’d find in the lobbies of cinemas as possible. We spoke to about 20 different printers and none of them could create what we had in mind, apart from Dennis Maps.
We started working with the business a few months ago and dealing with them has been so easy and straightforward. We reached out and had a chat, so they knew what we wanted to achieve. When we got our first print proofs back, they were exactly what we wanted.
What have you had printed by Dennis Maps so far?
We’ve printed an original piece from Matt, a Blade Runner 2049 poster, which sold out on pre-order within 12 hours. It’s a real statement piece and the larger scale (27×40 inches) is popular with collectors. It’s the 50th anniversary of Jaws too, so we’re releasing a one sheet, limited edition poster that Dennis Maps is printing in several sizes.
Do you plan to place more orders with Dennis Maps?
Yes, we’ve got lots more orders to come, so we’ll be keeping Dennis Maps busy!
What’s next for Vice Press?
We’re always looking at what to do next. In October, we’re hosting our annual Open House at a warehouse in Sheffield. It’s a convention and social where we sell our prints and invite artists we work with to sell theirs too. There’ll be a mystery film screening as well. Last year, we had 500 visitors and it’s still growing. We’ve got lots of other exciting stuff coming up as well, but I can’t say too much yet!
Dennis Maps is one of the leading map printers in the world, producing more than two million maps and charts every year. We offer comprehensive pre-press services, large format print solutions using both large format litho printing and large format digital print technologies, plus specialised map folding and map finishing techniques.