Letterpress
Invitations
Professionals
Seating Charts
I met Donna and John at the bridal show in London. I liked them instantly. They clearly know who they are as a couple, and don’t have any desire to pretend otherwise. More inclined to have invitations reflect them, than reflect what we seem to be told is the norm, they wanted to incorporate dragons. And I was excited.
Your wedding day is all about who you are as a couple, and reflecting that. I think if people want Batman on the front of their invitation, or motorcycles, or the Easter bunny, they should go ahead and do that. If there is something that symbolizes a couple’s interests, or how they met, or who they see themselves as, they should follow their hearts. Guests may not always understand, but in the end they get to see a little bit more of how the couple sees themselves. And that’s important.
So their fall wedding has a gorgeous burnt orange and eggplant color scheme. And they wanted a particular image made into a stamp. Some of the design elements had to be changed, in order to be able to stamp with it, but the end result is something I know they are pleased with.
I created four mock ups for them, that we can pull different elements of to create one perfect invitation. I can’t wait to see where this finally ends up!
I love the next two invitations for multiple reasons. They were silk screened. I love silk screening. They were done on Crane and Co’s 100% cotton paper. The edges are hand painted, and because the card stock is so thick, this effect is especially stunning.
So, with my letterpress coming, and the interest already generated, I am taking pre orders for business cards. I am actually ordering plates ahead of time, which means your logo could be on file here, and ready to go before my press even shows up.
Q: What cost am I looking at?
A: The first time you order a specific design from us, there is a $15 plate fee. As long as you don’t change your business card layout, the fee will not be charged the next time you order, because your plate will be here still. Business cards are $95 for 250. This cost is for one ink color, one side. A second color will be an additional $25. The reason for this? Inks are done one color at a time, so all the work of hand feeding the press has to be done again. The same fee applies for each subsequent color, or printing on the back.
*pre orders will get a free second ink color!*
Q: What is the turnaround time?
A: Because we do not have the press until May 22nd, and there is a learning curve, there is going to be a waiting period. I anticipate being able to begin business card printing the first couple weeks of June.
Q: What paper are you printing on?
A: I am sampling a number of different paper options right now. On the top of my list is Crane’s Lettra, which is 100% cotton. I love all of Hahnemuhle’s papers, and you can have the choice of papers made of cotton, bamboo, and sugar cane. Plike is an amazing product, and I have some of that being shipped now as well. It is a really neat plastic like paper, and comes in lots of color options. Business cards look fabulous on Curious Metallic paper as well. There are numerous options, and I believe that my experience in the wedding and stamping industries over the last decade make me a little more open to what choices are out there.
For your inspiration:
So, I’m all excited about letterpress. And I am starting to realize that a lot of people do not actually know what I mean. Which is understandable. The paper that I want is only available at one location in Ontario, and I could not find it in Detroit, even though I called major suppliers that distribute it in other states. It really is not done here (yet). Letterpress is a 600 year old form of printing, my press is 100 years old, and has only been seeing a real resurgence in the last decade or so.
*NOTE* I AM NOT GETTING MY PRESS UNTIL MAY 22ND. It is 2100 lbs, and involves an incredible amount of organization to bring this thing home. I had to send away to get the rollers redone. I have to buy a base for photopolymer, I have to buy inks, and solvents, and paper. I have to clean up the type I have. And clean out the garage…. Lots to do.
Here are a few examples of what letterpress looks like. It involves pushing the type and designs into the paper (which, incidentally, is going to be cotton, bamboo, or sugar cane) to leave an impression.
This post is probably a little bit more for fellow invitationers, as my father in law helped me solve an ongoing, tedious problem I had, and know others have.
My very first wedding was for a friend, Erin. She brought a beautiful concept to me, and included in stamping on the rsvp card was also painting the edges. I love the look of doing this, and was thrilled with her cards. Until I picked the stack of completed rsvp cards up, and realized I had smudged almost the entire stack by putting them together too quickly. Coming from the world of card making, where I never make more than one or two of the same design, unless I have to, drying times had not been an issue before. Okay, problem solved. I will just lay my cards out on the table, no stacking. The problem with this of course, is that if my invitations are 5×7, and I have 100 of them, I need ALOT of square feet to put these things. My table, and my counter, and my other table quickly became full. And every time an invitation was done, I would have to get up, set it down, and go back to my work space. Something that should have taken relatively little time to complete was becoming slowed down by the very simple need for drying time.
So I turned to my handy father in law. He quickly built me five drying racks, that each hold 20 or 21 invitations. I can’t believe how much something as simple as this has been able to positively impact my business.
This is quite honestly the most exciting thing for my business. I have drooled over letterpress companies and their work since the first day I started designing invitations. I knew it was something I had in mind for Verity Ink, but did not think it ever possible. At the very least not any time soon.
And then I went to a photographer’s get together (ya, ya, I’m not a photog. – they’re amazingly receptive of me anyways). I was chatting with Brianna from Last Forty Percent in London, and coveting her new letterpress business cards. I mentioned to her that letterpress is the ultimate goal I have had for my business. She enthusiastically suggested I jump on the idea, as there really is no one in Southwestern Ontario creating with it right now.
And then last week Jer asked me when I was going to get on with buying a press, since he wanted business cards. Half joking, half serious, but it kept the idea in the forefront of my mind. I mentioned these conversations to Brad, and got some version of a go-ahead to look.
So this week I hopped online, in an attempt to find a letterpress machine even somewhat locally. A girl who had started out last January in Sudbury drove 500 kms for hers. These things can be hard to find in the size and condition you are looking for. I responded to an ad for a press in the Detroit area. The seller suggested they had more presses available, I took the bait, and told him that what I was looking for is larger than what he was advertising. You can either purchase a table top press (read: manageable size, but limiting options) or a full size platen press that sits on the ground (huge, almost impossible to move, but you can do pretty much anything with these). When Andrew got back to me, he was slightly shocked at my request, but actually had what I wanted. In Port Huron. So today Brad and I spent the evening checking out one of the coolest purchases of my life. This is my 1910 Chandler and Price 12×18 Letterpress. It weighs 2100 lbs. It is going to take an engineer, two millwrights, a crane, a tow truck company, and a flatbed to get it home.
To say I am excited is something of an understatement. Letterpress is a sensory experience. The paper is thicker, softer. The letters, and designs, are debossed (impressed) into the paper. I have tried to locate another letterpress company between Windsor and Toronto with no luck. I think it’s something this little corner of the planet is going to thoroughly enjoy. Once I work through the learning curve….
I am looking forward to offering local brides (Sarnia, Chatham, Windsor, London and beyond) an option that has not been available to them before. The chance to have an in-studio design session, within driving distance, for letterpress invitations. Can’t wait to post projects as I start to play with this machine!!