Letterpress Christmas cards
Posted by Tom Moertel Wed, 22 Dec 2004 17:00:00 GMT
Per our family tradition, my wife and I design and print our own Christmas cards. We print them on my 2650-pound, 10×15-inch Chandler & Price Craftsman platen press, which was manufactured in 1939. (See image below.) Presses like these are generally considered to be obsolete. They must be oiled by hand before each operating shift, print only one color at a time, do not meet current OSHA specs, and use the finicky letterpress process to put ink on paper. (Almost all printing these days is done on presses that use the offset process.)
Letterpress printing is just like it sounds: The letters you want to print are inked and then pressed into paper to make an impression. In the case of my platen press, the entire surface to be printed is pressed into the paper at once – with up to twenty tons of impressional strength. (Watch those hands!) However, the hallmark of good letterpress printing is the “kiss impression,” where just enough strength is used to get perfect ink application. (Crushing the type into the paper wears down the type and ultimately reduces the crispness of the work.)
To get an idea of what letterpress printing looks like, take a look at the image below. (This is the front of our 2004 Christmas cards.)
The following 300-dpi close-up shows how crisp the letterpress process can be. The paper we are using is Fabriano Mediovalis, which is a thick, soft mouldmade paper. If you look closely, you can see how the letters have been (gently) pressed into this soft stock. You can’t do that with offset!
If you are at all curious about letterpress printing, take a look at these resources:
- Introduction to Letterpress Printing by David S. Rose. A compact, complete introduction. Start here.
- A short letterpress documentary about the Firefly Press. Of particular interest is the 10×18 Chandler & Price Craftsman platen press, the big brother of my press.
- The LETPRESS mailing list. I learned a ton of letterpress lore by lurking on LETPRESS for a few years.
Should your new hobby be letterpress printing? Think about it. (It makes a great New Year’s resolution.)
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, the photo is not a 10×15 Craftsman… why???
Richard is right, I would have to say the picture you cut & pasted is actually a 12×18 C&P w/Rice Feeder. And who says Letterpress printing is a “finicky” printing process?? It was the ONLY form of printing for hundreds of years, and to those of us that still do it on a regular basis, it is not a big deal, and it still gives the best quality printing around when done properly. Besides, it’s more environemntally friendly
- Lance Williams, a 3rd generation letterpress printer.
merry xmas and a prosperous new year.my regards to daddy,mummy,nonso,nwike and ebere.
mary xmass
어머님 안녕 하십니까 성탄절을 맞이 하여 가족들과 함께 즐거운날을 보내고 계십니까. 상인이 식구들,상선이 식구들, 해경이 식구들, 그리고 상기네 식구들 모두들 기쁜 마음으로 세상의 어려움을 정신적으로 이겨내는 법을 가르쳐 주러 이 세상에 사람의 몸으로 태어나신 하느님이 태어 나신날을 맞이 하고 있읍니까. 저는 어머님이 교회에 다니시는것이 자식을 위하는것이든 어머님자신을 위한것이든 돌아가신 아버님을 위한것이든 이웃과 친교를 위한것이든 상관없이 반갑고 기쁘고 고맙습니다. 어머니,아무쪼록 건강하시고 무슨일이든지 활동 하시고 웃으시고 어린이와 같이 걱정하지 마시고 기뻐하십시요. 안녕히 계세요.