One of the most positive design vibes in the Twin Cities comes from Eight Hour Day. This duo produces design with a bold and illustrative style. They just had a nice post over on Grain Edit too.
This invite they sent our studio for printing was a large A10 size card. We letterpress printed gold ink on cotton stock and even did a tone on tone gold envelope. Metallic ink on uncoated stock does not create a mirror-like sheen like foil stamping. It needs a heavy ink coverage to come out as shiny as possible. Many times we recommend a double bump on metallic inks to build up the sheen and opacity. A double coating of ink lets us hold on to the tiny detail and keep the prints crisp.
Dustin Arnold is one of the most vibrant type artist I’ve come across. His sense of craft and line work are unmatched in modern typography. We were excited to letterpress print this type he designed for City Of Angels Eyewear in LA.
Kelly English is a Minneapolis designer who worked with us on our Charmed and Sweetheart Seamstress Deskline stationery. Those paper goods are for sale on our Studio Site. We were excited to print her own card design. Her approach to the standard business card takes good advantage of a press sheet. We print them all the same time and trim them down.
A note about halftones – Letterpress can print screens of a color like offset, but the line screen is heavier. Think about it as a black and white newspaper image. We can comfortable hold on to about 80dpi on the typical uncoated papers. You can see the halftone detail in these cards creates an amazing texture. And with the overprinting magenta and yellow duotone – those girls are HOT.
Letterpress can use Pantone colors just like other types of printing. We prefer to mix our own ink from Pantone base colors using the Pantone formula guide. This means we don’t have to buy a pound of ink when we really only need a small spoonful for the project. We mix ink to match other things too – like paper stock, fabric, other pieces in a business system produced on offset presses. We use soy based inks whenever possible. The important thing is remembering not to taste the ink.
We get asked all the time if we offer both design and print services. The answer is a resounding yes. Here is an example of us doing the design and letterpress production for our client in Palm Beach.
If you are a designer and need a custom letterpress project printed up, talk to us for and estimate. Being designers ourselves, we know how important it is to have a great production partner.
Our friends at Mucca and Darden Studio sent this project our way. Darden typefaces are beautiful in utility with details that aren’t overworked. They are masters at creating a unique typographic voice. And letterpress printing just makes type that much sweeter.
This is a promo piece designed by our friends at Swink. We had this job on press a while back and wanted to show the exquisite finished project. It was 3/2 PMS letterpress printing plus lasercutting. Note the overprinting blue and orange to create the brown. All this on a 220lb C. tree free, reclaimed cotton fiber stock. We are always excited to print anything with fire on it.
Sakura Bloom, a best in category baby carrier brand reinvents themselves with design and letterpress.
Continue reading ‘The Modern Art of Babywearing’
Our rooftop studio overlooks the Minneapolis skyline. Sometimes the sky looks inky.
We’re back and in full swing again after the holiday break. Here’s a look at a print project on press yesterday for the Minnesota Rollergirls.
