Tag Archive for 'letterpress services'

Page 3 of 5

A Shaped And Buckled Letterpress Wedding Invite

This uniquely shaped invitation was designed by us at Studio On Fire. It is one of the most interesting die lines we’ve created for wedding invitations – elegant and fun at the same time. It is a simple green one color letterpress on white paper with that same green printing on a green paper for a tone on tone effect. What really gives this invitation set a unique twist is that the cards nest into a four strap belly band enclosure which holds them together. Inside there are three cards: an invite, a map and an RSVP postcard. The four strap enclosure buckles together with slits in the paper and does not require glue or tape. The address area on the enclosure can be written on like an envelope. Once fastened together the invite then mails in a clear bag rather than an envelope.

studioonfire_kellywedding_wrapfront

studioonfire_kellywedding_flat

studioonfire_kellywedding_wrapback

Published on March 14, 2009 in Letterpress and Wedding. 6 Comments Tags: belly band, buckled, clear bag, Design, design services, die cut, die line, diecut, enclosure, invitation, invitations, invite, Letterpress, letterpress services, minneapolis, shape, shaped, Wedding.

Six Degrees Of Colored Paper

Since letterpress doesn’t do a great job flooding a page with ink, designers must come up with production alternatives to bring in big areas of color. One of the things that can be done when designing for letterpress is combining different colored paper stocks. This works especially well for projects with multiple pieces that need to coordinate – like stationery systems, wedding invitations, etc. Our previous post on the Ocean House system shows a splash of color added to the back of everything via offset printing. Adding a contrasting paper stock for pieces like envelopes and cards can be a more cost effective production solution to still add color to letterpress and avoid offset (or “flat” printing as people call it when comparing to letterpress)

This system designed over at Space150 by Jason Strong brings color to the system by adding a couple contrasting papers. We printed the same letterpress ink color on the white stock and then the burgundy colored stock for the envelopes. This creates a tone-on-tone effect that remains legible and adds a nice texture. A smaller note card in a pink stock also matches the pink ink used throughout the pieces. The business cards are on thick 220lb Crane Lettra, which does an excellent job eliminating the impression show through of a two sided card.

_0002_sixdegrees_system

_0008_sixdegrees_tone_on_tone

Published on March 11, 2009 in Letterpress. 1 Comment Tags: 220lb, Business Cards, colored, crane, envelope, envelopes, flood, jason strong, Letterpress, letterpress services, lettra, offset, paper, space150, stationary, stationery, thick, two sided.

Ocean House Stationery – Mucca Design

Our good friends at Mucca Design in NYC designed this beauty. A tight piece of typography with a punch of color to bring everything to life makes this system sweet.

The large color flood on the back of everything is offset printed. Then we printed two color letterpress. The paper is Monadnock PC100 throughout which gives a nice warmness and a little texture.

_0002_mucca_oceanhouse_system _0005_mucca_oceanhouse_logo

Published on March 9, 2009 in Letterpress. 1 Comment Tags: business papers, businss cards, card, Design, envelope, flood, ink, letterhead, Letterpress, letterpress services, mucca, ocean house, offset, stationary, stationery.

Sweetheart Seamstress Stationery

Check out a feature from our own product line…

The Studio On Fire Deskline contains uniquely formatted and detailed paper goods. Sweetheart Seamstress stationery elements include stitched journals, letter writing sets, punch-out calling card and tag sets, self mailing notes with pinhole perforated labels and mini folders.

Look for these details: custom scalloped edge envelopes, fill-in-your-name calling cards, mini book marks, perforated label sheets with dry gum backing.

Our vision for a product line was to create finished pieces that captures some of the random qualities that happen in test prints and makeready. We worked with Kelly English and Kindra Murphy on three different product themes. On this theme, Kelly used vintage sewing pattern inspired elements to create layers of texture and pattern. The detail is almost to cute to stand. And of course all of it is letterpress printed. They can be purchased on our website.

_0006_sof_seamstress_detail

_0007_sof_seamstress_bookmark

_0001_sof_seamstress_envelopes

Published on March 7, 2009 in Design, Letterpress and Studio On Fire Products. 7 Comments Tags: bookmarks, calling cards, card, deskline, envelope, folders, handmade, journals, kelly english, labels, letterhead, Letterpress, letterpress services, mailer, minneapolis, patterns, product, scalloped edge, sewing, stationery, stitched, studio on fire, sweetheart seamstress, tags, thread.

McKnight Artist Fellows – Letterpress Journal

We worked together with designer Stuart Flake and illustrator Brian Gunderson on this fine little journal project for the McKnight Foundation. The McKnight Foundation is truly one of the significant supporters of Minnesota artists. Each year they award grants to independent artists in several categories. This journal was used to commemorate the artist fellows awarded in 2008.

The journal is perfect bound with a letterpress printed 60pt blotter board affixed on front and back covers. We found an existing library pocket and printed those to contain a card with the list of the artist fellows. Note the beautiful way Gunderson incorporates overprinting into his illustration to make a third color.

_0004_mcknight_cover

_0003_mcknight_card_inpocket

Published on March 5, 2009 in Letterpress. 3 Comments Tags: 2008, 60pt, artist, blotter, board, book, Brian Gunderson, fellows, journal, Letterpress, letterpress services, library card, McKnight Foundation, minnesota, perfect bound, Stuart Flake.

Secret Agent Man Letterpress Business Cards

The thickness of these cards allows them to also serve as a secret weapon. When your primary audience for business card hand off is art directors and designers, your card had better be memorable. A 55 point coaster board makes them fantastically textural and unstoppable. Clockwork Active Media Systems designed these for photographer rep Jeff Cerise – aka Secret Agent Man. They are hot off the press.

One thing to note about Coaster Board – it does not take a sculptured impression like other softer sheets. The surface will break. One of the detail photos below shows the surface cracking that will occur with to much pressure. This is likely especially in interior areas of artwork and must be watched for and adjusted to avoid this breakage. However, the finish of the stock is nice and pulpy – a definate stand-out among more typical paper mill stocks. We also like the “salty” look to the dark ink color on this stock. Gives it an aged / weathered appearance.

_0000_secretagent_cards

Published on March 4, 2009 in News. 4 Comments Tags: 55 point, 55pt, board, Business Cards, clockwork, clockwork active media, coaster, cracking, jeff cerise, Letterpress, letterpress services, minneapolis, photographer, rep, salty, secret agent man, stock, thick, ultra.

BBDO – Letterpress CD Packaging, Coasters, Cards

We print for other creative companies both large and small. Our friends in Designworks at BBDO in New York made up this gem of an identity system for their new post production suite called The Kitchen at BBDO. The system blends some fun patterns and crisp tiny type onto coasters, business cards and a CD package. And it was among the projects we printed that won a feature in the Print Design Annual.

It is a misconception that letterpress is only for small projects. We are not scared to run a big press sheet and handle large volume work. The 4 panel, 2 pocket CD package ran 2 up on our full size 18 x 23 sheet and was custom die cut and converted. The coasters and business cards ran together on a second sheet. And the details still look edible.

_0005_bbdo_kitchen_coasters_cards

_0002_bbdo_kitchen_logo

_0001_bbdo_kitchen_cd_package2

Published on March 2, 2009 in Letterpress and packaging. 2 Comments Tags: BBDO, Business Cards, CD, coaster, designworks, identity, large format, Letterpress, letterpress services, minneapolis, package, packaging, pattern, press sheet, print, system, the kitchen at bbdo.

Black Paper: White Vs. Silver Inks

Here is an image comparison of “opaque” white ink to silver ink. We did this little letterpress test to illustrate why opaque ink really isn’t opaque.

_0003_whitetwice_vs_silvertwice

Note: The small type in these images is about 4 point serif type.

We offer letterpress services to designers around the country and are constantly asked to print white ink on black paper. You can see above that it does not look crisp and bright like you might expect it to. The conversation we have with designers goes something like this:

- Can I have white ink printed on my black paper?

Yes, but it will not be opaque like you might expect.

- What will it look like?

Sort of whitish blue and blotchy and with a bit of ink squeeze on the edges.

- Oh, why doesn’t it just print white?

Opaque white ink for letterpress and offset printing is actually not very opaque.

- Why is there ink squeeze?

A thicker film of ink must be run on press to achieve any sort of opacity. When the ink is run thick on letterpress, you get ink squeezing out at the edge of the artwork.

- Can you do anything to get it to print up better?

We can run the paper through twice. The first pass is run with almost no ink and heavy impression. The second pass is run with heavy ink and just a kiss impression. This allows the white ink to sit right on the surface of the paper. It is not a very nice bright white, more of a blueish white.

- Does twice through the press mean I’ll pay more?

Of course.

- What do you recommend?

Print a metallic ink. Unlike opaque white ink, metallic ink is actually opaque. One hit of metallic ink can get good coverage on dark colored stock. A double pass of the metallic ink can even offer a nice sheen.

- How about yellow or pink, will that work on black paper?

Nope, this goes for all inks of a lighter color printing on darker colored stock. The stock affects the color of the ink. Colors printing on dark colored papers will not be opaque.

- How can I know what my ink color will look like printed on a colored paper.

We recommend using the “multiple” filter in Adobe Illustrator. It isn’t a perfect match but does give a good approximation.

- Is there another printing method that can print opaque white?

Silkscreen Printing – but small details can suffer.

Foil Stamping – but small details can suffer.

Engraving – but the size and nature of the artwork is limited. And the cost is $$$.

- Can you engrave it for me?

We do only letterpress printing services and some small foil stamping work. We do not do engraving. We partner with another vendor for engraving services when there is engraving combined with letterpress printing.

- Hmm, maybe metallic ink will work for me…

Great, we are glad you understand!

Published on March 2, 2009 in News. 7 Comments Tags: black letterpress, black paper, Business Cards, card, colored, double, engrave, engraving, foil stamping, foiling, ink, letterpress services, metallic, minneapolis, opaque, silver, stationery, stock, tip, white.

Laurie DeMartino – Letterpress Identity

We love involved custom production projects with other design firms – especially identity systems. The refined work of designer Laurie DeMartino exemplifies the level of production we strive for in our letterpress shop. A keen eye for detailed type and color makes her design work striking. In fact, we believe she has a sixth sense related to finessing details. We worked with her to produce this identity system by matching her attention to detail on press.

_0002_demartino_business_card_front

Some noteworthy things about this system:

We partnered with another vendor to produce the offset floods of color on the letterhead and envelopes. Those big fields of color are next to impossible to hold consistent on letterpress. We can do larger areas of color (we did it on the note card and business card) but there is more variation in letterpress printing than in offset. When that variation is desirable we will print a flood of color on certain stocks. When it is not desirable, we recommend combining letterpress with offset. (Yes, that adds cost.) It is worth noting that we can print a large press sheet and often work in tandem with commercial offset printing.

Business Cards are 5 PMS /1 PMS. We matched the ink printed offset with our letterpress ink.

All the type and small graphics are letterpress printed. Light colored type is a heavy impression with custom mixed varnish. You can see in the letterhead detail and business card detail the show through on the reverse of the sheet.

The envelope is custom converted and has a perforation line across the flap.

_0005_demartino_identity_system

Published on February 25, 2009 in Letterpress. 3 Comments Tags: blind, Business Cards, commercial, custom, envelope, identity, impression, letterhead, Letterpress, letterpress services, minneapolis, notecard, offset, perforation, printing, stationary, stationery, system, varnish.

Portsmouth Tea Stationery – Letterpress Identity

An identity system need not have enough colors to choke a horse. Letterpress printing makes the understated shine. This system for Portsmouth Tea Company is magnificently elegant and simple. Just a single color – metallic silver. And premium materials – Crane 100% cotton paper. Notice the custom converted policy style envelope incorporating the shape into the flap. 179lb Crane Cover cardstock for the business cards.

We pride ourselves in planning production closely with design firms. Our friends at HV Anderson in Louisville, Kentucky designed this identity. We think it’s flawless.

Published on February 23, 2009 in Letterpress. 0 Comments Tags: business card, cotton, crane, custom converted, die cut, envelope, letterhead, Letterpress, letterpress services, metallic, minneapolis, portsmouth, printing, silver, stationery, two sided.

Art Of The Business Card – Black Paper

When we work with designers on projects we have conversations about “production strategy.” Sometimes letterpress is a good fit for the design intent, sometimes not. And often times we combine other production methods to achieve the effect being sought after. Black business cards present a range of production challenges. Flooding a white paper with black ink doesn’t produce fine detail in small type sizes. Here are two projects featuring different ways to print on black paper by combining letterpress with other processes.

Jamie Wickard Card – Designed by our friends at Westwerk Design

This card was produced on black paper stock: Tonal Black letterpress ink and a gloss black FOIL (side 1) and Silver Letterpress (side 2)

Antitdote X Card – Designed by our friends at Antidote X

This card was produced on cream paper stock custom duplexed to black paper stock. (Black letterpress on the cream side and white ENGRAVING on the black side) Then it was finished with custom die cutting.

To achieve fine white type on a black background Engraving is the most premium (and most costly) printing method. By duplexing a black stock rather than printing black ink and reversing out the white we’ve achieved something letterpress and offset printing would not have done well – notice the fine 3 point serif type! White foil and screen printing can print on black, but not with detail like that. Letterpress printing does not do well printing opaque white on dark colored paper and achieving bright opacity either. Like offset printing, opaque white can be laid down with several passes and achieve a mottled looking white – not a bright white. As a rule for general production: only metallic inks have good opacity on dark stocks.

Of course this all combining of production methods comes at a cost. Which comes to a final point – KNOW YOUR CLIENT BUDGET. Our best production advice is to know what your client wants to spend before finalizing your design. If you have an extravagant design with multiple production steps and your client has only a $300 dollar budget, you’ve just wasted design time on something they can not afford to produce. But if you plan production along side design, you can present your client an option that doesn’t need rounds of compromise. That is what “production strategy” is all about.

Published on February 22, 2009 in Letterpress. 19 Comments Tags: antidote x, black, Business Cards, Design, die cut, duplex, engraved, engraving, foil, foiled, ink, jaime wickard, Letterpress, letterpress services, minneapolis, opaque, paper, print, printing, production, silver, strategy, westwerk, white, white ink.

Rosenthal – A Letterpress Identity

When Becky Rosenthal was launching her wedding photography business she asked us to both design and letterpress print her identity system. So many wedding invites are letterpressed, why not appeal to brides with the same tactility?

Here’s a couple design considerations for letterpress:

One of the things we like about letterpress is what happens to the white areas within a design. You can see in the logo below how the interior white spaces have a raised effect because the area around them is being pressed down. Creating those white spaces within a solid area is one of the things we try to include in our design work to show some dimension.

Another thing that works well in letterpress design is the inclusion of pattern. Rather than using large solid areas of color (which definitely are not well suited for letterpress) a flood of pattern adds both color and a texture that can be felt.