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2010 “Big Issue” Hot Off The Press

What’s big and thick and headed to newsstands now? That’s right, early copies of SURFER’s much-anticipated Big Issue arrived in our offices on the first day of summer, which means they’ll be on newsstands and in the mailboxes of subscribers any day now.

We sent Assistant Photo Editor JP Van Swae to St. Cloud, Minnesota, on a four-day press check to make sure the beast of an issue came out with just the right mixture of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black. Our major concern was the cover image—a delicate “speed blur” that required just the right care on press to ensure it maintained its specialness.

“It was actually totally exhausting,” JP said when he got back to the offices with bags under his eyes and proofs of the cover hidden deep in his backpack. “You’re constantly on call for the press, so you just spend your time eating, waiting, checking test pages, and sleeping.”

We aren’t showing you the cover yet, because we don’t want to spoil the mailbox surprise reaction, but we thought we’d share some photos JP snapped of the printing process.