Of all the print technologies, it's the most intricate and nuanced.
When I was in a printing college, I simply loved the texture and touch of a letterpressed piece that has so much impact, wouldn't you say? The paper is substantial. The ink is like oil paint. The image is pressed into the paper, forever. And the sweet aroma. Ummmm.
Somehow I always felt letterpress was permanent. Our professors in print college in Pune taught us that if something is letterpress then users don't discard it. In fact they treasure it. In fact, I have two things at home - and both are letterpress (a poster and a an old theatre newsletter). At some point, I plan to buy a small machine and create beautiful wedding invitations and premium business cards.
Business cards are such a gross waste.
In our lifetime, all of us have received thousands of business cards.
How many do you remember? Which ones do you keep? Does your hand pause when you flip through your visiting card stack?
As a CEO or manager in a print firm what does your own business card say? What does it say about your love and passion for print? Does it say "I know Steve Jobs latest biography has used Helvetica on its cover and that’s how Helvetica should be used - but I'm going to cram my card with details and logos." Or does it say "I will add a bit of emboss and then a bit of deboss and some clear foil and then a bit of QR code which will be laid out on uncoated paper so that I can tell my customer I know about all the print methods in the world?"
Think about it.
What stays with you?
Please don't think I loathe on other forms of print. Not in the least. Every printing process is superb. But I wouldn't recommend that a Conde Nast title be printed on letterpress, and that coffee mugs shouldn't be run through a gravure press.
It is just that I love letterpress. So much so, I’m looking for a tiny hand-crank letterpress machine which I can buy or rent. That way I can create cards for my friends and the people I meet.
That would be a start. Please contact me if you know where I can source such a machine.
Letterpress at Jak Printers
