Letterpress
Invitations
Professionals
Seating Charts
I wonder if there are enough words to describe the joy of working for myself – mind you, I’m a bit of a control freak. And I’m a little bossy (my kindergarten teacher informed my parents that “Nicole likes to organize the other children”) – but the great thing is, when you work for yourself, it’s good to be in charge. And know what you want, and how you want to do it. BUT. I love what I do. Probably because I’m a nerd – my most treasured item in my home is a book from 1701. That’s just cool.
I have a passion for old things, and being a kinesthetic learner, the tactile experience of what I do fits me to a tee. My press is from 1910. It has a history. And a personality (don’t argue with me about that, you boys name your cars like they’re people) I thought you might like to see (through the glorious use of my iPhone camera) what exactly is involved in creating letterpress invitations.
Step one – we create a pdf file – the really neat thing about merging old and new technologies is the fact that letterpress designs really are limitless. Once I have a design my bride and I are super thrilled with, we send the files off to create a plate out of a hard polymer. The plate sticks to the aluminum base, which fits into the frame (called a chase) Our press has a chase size of 12×18 inches – which means we can realistically work with designs up to the size of 10×15 inches.
Once the plate is on, we start the fiddly process of making sure the text and design are all at the same depth, for consistency in the final product. We have to adjust how many sheets of paper are under our invitations, based on how large the design is, and the type of paper we are using. We also determine how hard to hit it – too hard, and it leaves bruising on the back (the design pushes through some, leaving an impression) – which is not appealing. Not hard enough, and you do not have the letterpress look to the final product that is desired.
Once our make-ready is what we want, we get to mixing our inks. We have chosen to go with a rubber based ink. We like it because it stays open on the press – which means, unlike an oil based ink, it is not incredibly fast drying, and gives us more play time. We have all of the inks needed to create the colours in the pantone swatch books – which means lots of variety, and therefore happy clients. Sometimes the ratios are easy (12 parts ref blue, 4 parts process blue) and sometimes they are really complicated (239 and 5/8 parts trans. white, 7/8 parts red, 2 1/2 parts yellow – not so fun to tweak)
After we have the right colour, we ink up the press.
And start our run. Each sheet of paper is hand fed, at the risk of losing fingers. Letterpress is not a job to do when tired, or distracted. Every dozen or so we check to make sure there is consistency throughout the design, and that there is still enough ink on the press. Depending on the size of the image, and the temperature of the ink, the press needs to be re-inked every so often.
After the run is done, the invitations need to be cropped…
And here is the final order assembled and ready for pickup:
I LOVE the wedding industry. I can’t get enough of it; which honestly has surprised me. I have helped at a bridal shop last summer. And been a photographer’s assistant a few times. I’ve helped a planner at a wedding, and gone to as many get-togethers for wedding professionals as I can make time to attend in southwestern Ontario. And one of the absolute perks in all of this has been the friendships I have developed with other vendors.
Jenn of Blue Iris Photography in London is one cool chica. We have tattoos in common. She has a bright, funky soul, and is a great photographer. And she shares my passion for business cards. I love working for other vendors in the industry – there’s a real joy in being trusted with your peers’ projects.
Jenn’s letterpress business cards were created on a 4 ply ragboard – they are T H I C K. Like, coffee coaster thick. And square. I love squares (doesn’t everyone have a favourite shape??) Her logo is simple. Which is also good – it screams sophistication, and elegance, and modernity. Love it.
Jenn is pleased with them too: “Can I tell you again how much I love my new business cards? I can’t stop holding them. They feel so good! You are amazing! You did such a fantastic job!” I {heart} happy clients!
*photos were taken by Jenn – www.blueirisphoto.com*