These are the brand new cards for Dita Eyewear in Los Angeles. Bryan Crabtree designed them and did a nice post over on his blog too. The blind flourish on the light side and the diamond pattern on the black gives these cards a tonal and elegant look.
We first printed these as two sheets, a natural color and black stock and then pasted the sheets together after printing. This step eliminates show through of the impression when printing a two sided design. We’ve found that the gluing of the sheet after it is printed does flatten back some of the impression, so we start with a heavy impression initially. The lighter color stock is Wausau Compliments Natural White 100lbC and is printed with a blind pass and black ink. The black stock is Wausau Eclipse Black 100lbC and is printed with PMS 8001 silver and black ink. The final thickness is 200lbC, about the thickness of a US dime. After printing and gluing, the cards were die cut to the final shape with angled corners.

Published on
November 30, 2009 in
Business Cards and Letterpress.
Tags: 100lbC, 200lbC, angle, black, blind, bryan crabtree, business, Business Cards, California, card, cards, cut, Design, die, die cutting, diecut, duplex, fashion, inkless, LA, Letterpress, los angeles, natural, off white, offwhite, paste, pasted, shape, silver, white.
These cards were designed by Reddoor Creative in LA. Finely designed and printed business cards speak volumes about a business or an individual – and there are no half measures here. These cards are letterpress printed 2 pms colors each side plus a blind hit. The paper is custom duplexed Fluorescent White 268lb 100% cotton Crane Cover Kid Finish. We’d say they have a “thump factor”.
Duplex means pasting two sheets of paper back to back. In this case, we had the sheets pasted AFTER they were printed. We started with a press sheet for the front of the cards and another press sheet for the back of the cards, each sheet being at 134lb Cover weight. What this accomplishes is deep impression on both sides of the card with out show through from a heavy letterpress impression. Custom duplex pasting a sheet is the best way to achieve that heavy impression both sides and get a nice thick card with the artwork on both sides looking top notch. After pasting the press sheets together they were trimmed to size and edges were colored to match the printed pms. Coloring the edge of paper that thick really makes the most of the edge coloring effect.
I think I want to buy a house from this guy.


Published on
August 25, 2009 in
Letterpress.
Tags: 134lb, 268lb, back to back, both sides, business, California, cards, coloring, crane, deep, Design, duplex, duplexed, duplexing, edge, edge coloring, heavy, impression, LA, Letterpress, letterpress business cards, los angeles, luxury, painting, pasted, pasting, printer, printing, reddoor, reddoor creative, tipping, trimmed, typography.
A simple pattern goes a long way with letterpress printing. This is a design from the bride that uses a contemporary geometric pattern with a refined gray and yellow color palette. It is pressed on Crane Lettra 110lb Cotton stock with a matching Lettra envelope. The pattern even comes across the flap of the envelope. A nifty little details card directs you to the couples web site and replaces lengthy printed information that can clutter up an invitation suite. Connect with the bride Sabrena if you like the design style of this invite and would like her design services . The right pattern produces such beautiful letterpress texture. We’d love to print more like this.

Published on
June 16, 2009 in
Letterpress and Wedding.
Tags: bride design, California, contemporary, design texture, details, flap, geometric, invitation, invitations, invite, LA, Letterpress, letterpress wedding invitation, lettra, los angeles, modern, pattern, printing, simple, square, Wedding, yellow.
The world would be a better place if only we had more plaid. And that is what makes this letterpress wedding invitation extra fantastic. This fun and colorful stationery was designed by the couple Heather and Barry for their LA wedding. They have “His & Hers” invitation design company launching soon. In the mean time, check out their design and illustration work at Cheeky Design.
This invite is one of the most challenging we’ve letterpress printed in terms of registration. The plaid design relies on the white spaces between the colors aligning perfectly. Take a look at the detail shots to see how the colors align. Other tight register work can sometimes be choked or trapped to provide some tolerance in the printing. Not here – this was TIGHT. And we love the final product.


Published on
May 2, 2009 in
Letterpress and Wedding.
Tags: black, blue, cards, cheeky design, Design, invitation, invite, LA, Letterpress, los angeles, plaid, registration, set, stationery, tight, typography, Wedding, whale, yellow.