Because of my love for letterpress (and I know I’m not the only one!), I have dedicated a special page to it.  This is the “how to” on having your own design letterpressed.  NOT how to actually print your own invitations.  I have no idea how that works.

This is a guide to:

• designing an invitation with letterpress printing in mind
• preparing files for press
• ordering plates for printing
• ordering the right paper
• sending your files & paper to the press

First of all, I feel the need to share with you the beauty of letterpress.  Letterpress printing is one of the oldest forms of printing.  Back in the day, a “perfect impression” was if there was little or no impression into the paper.  But just a nice, solid image.  In today’s world, we love the dimension you can feel and see from the impression in the soft, thick paper.  A printing plate is used to actually press an image into the page, so it actually makes a slight indentation into the paper.

Tips for designing an invitation with letterpress printing in mind…

Boxcar Press has done such a great job with this topic, that I’ll defer to them for this one!

Designing for Letterpress, by Boxcar Press

Preparing your files for letterpress printing…

Read this carefully.  You will need Adobe Illustrator, InDesign or Photoshop for this.  Drop me a note if you get stuck.

Once again, Boxcar Press has rocked this topic…so take it away Boxcar!

File Prep Instrucions

Briar Press is an amazing resource for just about everything letterpress related.  I highly recommend taking a good look through their site before tackling your project.

Boxcar Press is also an amazing resource for all things letterpress.  They make the plates, they provide the file prep guidelines, and they will even print your job.

Beaver Engraving takes the cake in the plate making world.  I use them for all of my plate needs.  Their work is top notch, and so is their service.  Don’t be fooled by their no-frills website.

Selecting Paper for Your Letterpress Job

Here are my favorite papers for letterpress printing…

Crane’s Lettra: Textured, heavy cardstock. Available in a heavy weight & super heavy weight (almost like a coaster weight).  There are many coordinating envelope options, including innner & outer envelopes. 100% cotton (tree free)

Colors: Bright White, Pearl White, Ecru

Best Results With: letterpress, thermography, engraved, offset

Buy it at: Paper.com, Legion Paper ($250 minimum order, but great prices!), JC Paper in Oakland, Keldon Paper in Los Angeles.

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Arturo: Textured, heavy cardstock. Available in a nice cardstock and text weight.  Several coordinating envelope options, including inner & outer envelopes.

Colors: White, Softwhite, Buttercream, Pale Blue, Celadon, Pale Pink, Lavender, Stone Grey.  Coordinating envelopes available…envelopes and card sizes are not standard, so these cards will not work with other envelope lines.

Best Results With: letterpress, thermography, engraved, offset, laser

Buy it at: Paper.com, Legion Paper ($250 minimum order, but great prices!), Dick Blick, Paper-Papers.com

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Handmade & Seeded Papers: Highly Textured, heavy cardstock. Seeded paper has plant seeds embedded into the paper…plant it, and it will actually GROW!  Custom envelopes available.

Colors: Custom Colors

Best Results With: letterpress, engraved, offset

Buy it at: Porridge Papers, Twin Rocker

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