Letterpress greeting cards1/8/2024 ![]() We send our designs to Boxcar Press, where they transfer your digital design onto a polymer plate. A separate plate is produced for every color being printed, and the paper is run through the press at least once for each color in the design. What remains is a raised surface in the shape of the design. The portions of the plate that are exposed through the clear parts of the film hardens, and what is not washes away. The polymer plate is made of a light-sensitive, water-soluble plastic with a clear backing. The digital design is output to a film as a negative (left), and then exposed to a polymer plate using UV light (right). Polymer plates are produced using a photographic process. ![]() Today, these presses are sought after for their quality and large printing size. In this press’s first life it probably pulled proofs of pages for a daily newspaper. These cards were printed on Crane Lettra 220 lb Pearl White cotton paper. They were designed for a wedding photography company called Readyluck, by Baltimore designer Christopher Clark. The images below walk you through the process of printing 2-color, double-sided business cards on a Vandercook SP-20 printing press. The printing part is still by hand, one at a time. Designing for letterpress today begins on a computer, and as such, new fonts, embellished ornaments, graphics, patterns, and complicated multi-color designs can be produced with relative ease. What began with hand-set wood and metal type (read more about this from Jen of Starshaped Press here) has become an industry centered around the photo polymer plate. It’s easy to forget that what we treasure today as an artisan product, made by a well-trained craftsperson, was once known simply as printing. Today’s cottage industry of letterpress printers has been built on the shoulders of 100 years of printing industry, starting around the late 1800s. ![]() Letterpress printing has become the go-to printing technique for wedding invitations, greeting cards, and business cards for anyone hoping to make an impression (pun intended) on the recipient. We’re thrilled to share the process of letterpress printing with you and how things work in our shop. Hello OSBP! We’re Kim and Kyle from Baltimore Print Studios, a public-access letterpress and screen printing studio where we also print commercially and for ourselves. Today Kim and Kyle from Baltimore Print Studios are here to walk us through modern letterpress printing! Arely-Rose and Morgan use their privilege as makers and business owners to create products that speak to the people, and once in awhile make them laugh with a little dad joke.Every morning this week, I’m running a series of guests posts about different printing methods – so if you’ve ever wondered why certain printing methods are best for certain kinds of designs (or cost more than others), this is for you! You can read the previous installments covering digital printing, engraving, screen printing, letterpress printing with antique type, and foil stamping all right here. In recent years, they have used their platform to promote womxn's, LGBTQ+, POC and immigrant rights, using their "power of the press" to produce work that helps to mobilize social movements. They take pride in making things by hand, locally, and sustainably. Ladyfingers Letterpress believes that you don't have to be a large company to make a big impact. ![]() Their letterpress and design headquarters is open so that customers can see the presses running and witness their products being made. In 2016 they opened their flagship store in Colorado Springs where they also host workshops and classes and offer a wide variety of boutique stationery and locally-made, finely curated gifts. They debuted their line at the National Stationery Show, and are proud to say that today their line of greeting cards and paper goods can be found in over 800 fine boutiques around the world. They launched their business in 2011 when to their surprise, their work went viral online! After this, they quit their day jobs to open a small studio and became very busy designing and printing their products by hand on presses that are older than the invention of the Model T Ford. Sweet, hand pressed cards made in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Īll other cards: A2 standard size About Ladyfingers LetterpressĪward-winning Ladyfingers Letterpress is an LGBTQ+ owned-and-operated stationery & gift brand based in Colorado Springs founded by wife-and-wife team, Arley-Rose Torsone and Morgan Calderini.
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