 |
home about invitations etc. ordering & process faq contact view cart |
About LUXE letterpress |
the letterpress process What is letterpress? Letterpress began in Europe in the 1400's as a way to reproduce books, which had, until that point, been handwritten one by one. The invention of the printing press and moveable type was revolutionary, allowing books to be mass produced, and for hundreds of years until the advent of offset printing in the 20th century, letterpress was the primary printing method to produce everything from newspapers to books. Letterpress, simply, is a relief process in which a raised surface such as movable type, metal dies, or photopolymer plates is inked and then pressed against a surface (generally paper) to create an impression. Impression is key in letterpress, setting it apart from other printing processes. Too light of an impression, and one can't tell that it is letterpress. Too deep of an impression crinkles and bends the paper, creating a wrong-reading braille on the other side of the paper. Today, artisans still use the very same process to produce exquisite stationery, books, posters, and broadsides. The letterpress process is especially popular to print wedding invitations as the process lends itself to using more luxurious, thicker fine art papers. A custom plate is made for every invitation piece, and the paper is handfed, one at a time, through an antique press for a truly unique, hand-crafted invitation with a distinct artisan feel. What type of plates do you use? Today, there are many different kinds of plates out there. Without getting too technical, we use a mixture of antique hand-set type and custom metal plates mounted on wood or custom metal plates mounted on a metal base. We chose metal plates over photopolymer plates because it gives crisper, sharper lines and a more gorgeous impression. What presses do you use? Joie Studio does the majority of our letterpress printing on a 1909 Golding Pearl Improved, and our Golding Official is used for smaller items.
|
