Custom Printed Stationery a.k.a. Movie Props for "The Town"

    

It really never occurred to me before, all that goes into the making of a movie. Yes, of course, we all know movies have mega budgets spending millions of dollars to make a two hour flick. However, if you're like me, you may not have ever given a lot of thought as to what exactly do these movie makers spend those millions on?

Well, more than a year ago now TPI Solutions Ink received a call from a local movie set designer. She was looking for all types of generic bank forms as well as custom stationery for a movie set she was working on. Really? Wow, how cool, is what we all thought at TPI. We were more than happy to work with our new client and we were super intrigued about the process. As it turns out these printed props were meant for a scene in the movie "The Town" starring Ben Affleck.

So, you custom-printed-stationery-movie-propsmay wonder, what's the story? Why did they need this stuff? The printed materials that TPI Solutions Ink provided for "The Town" were used in a bank heist scene. An outside graphic design firm created a logo for the fictional "Cambridge Merchants Bank" and we used that logo to create custom printed stationery, memo pads, mouse pads, etc. We also supplied thousands of generic bank forms for use in this scene. The set designer required double the amount of material because the scene would need to be shot more than once. They planned to use water in the scene and needed to have two sets of new materials to account for any damage that may occur. I'm happy to say that TPI came through and got all the materials printed and packaged in time for the costly shoot.

I have not yet seen "The Town" but it looks really great. You can bet that I'll be paying close attention to that bank robbery scene in hopes of catching a glimpse of our "famous" printed stationery! We are also very grateful for the business that the movie industry brings to the state of Massachusetts. The budget for making a film is not just spent on big ticket items. When a movie is filmed in this state many, many businesses and industries benefit. I say, bring it on Hollywood, we're ready for you!

About The Author

Carrie is currently the President and Co-Owner of TPI Solutions Ink. She is a graduate of RIT with a BS in Printing Management. Carrie has over 40 years experience in the printing industry.