Facts About Letterpress Printing

Letterpress has been replaced by offset printing for most purposes, but not all. When it comes to elegance, letterpress printing still commands a price. People love to print wedding and other invitations, business cards etc in letterpress. The gravity of those elegant impressions surpasses the levity of offset printing. Despite being expensive, people love to flaunt those impressions on cards that signify defining moments in their lives. It evokes a sense of nostalgia. The engravings convey a message and the events are etched in the memory of recipients. Letterpress printing can be the perfect solution to your printing needs whether it is wedding invitation, business car printing or something else. 

Types of Letterpress Print

The Letterpress printed material boasts of tangible prints. There are various ways in which such tangible prints can be imprinted on papers. Simply speaking there are various types of such prints. Letters can be embossed, debossed or blind. Your preference and significance of the occasion or purpose are the two things that determine the type of print. So the letters may have a stamping effect with a raised texture or a depressed texture. The raised letters are known as embossed ones and the depressed letters are known as debossed ones.

Embossed Printing

To print such letters the letters are pressed upwards from backside. It obviously leaves a debossing effect on the backside and an embossing effect on the upper side. 

Debossed Printing

In such prints the letters are pressed from the upper side. Like in embossing effect this also produces a debossing on the uppeside and an embossing effect on the backside.

Blind Printing

In this type of printing, ink is used to produce the effect. So what you get is just an impression of letters in ink. There is no effect on the opposite side. This is the type of letterpress print that most people look for. 

The letterpress print evokes a sense of proximity to the recipient be it a business card, an invitation or anything else. You can create a number of different effects with the help of letterpress print. Each of them has a different appeal. Most people prefer the debossed or embossed prints for printing items like visiting cards. On the other hand, the blind effect is popular in wedding cards and other invitation cards. 

Contemporary Letterpress

Though the print has kept its nostalgic flavor intact, the method of printing has undergone a sea change. Printers no longer use the wooden or metal blocks for letterpress printing. Instead they use polymer plates which can be carved out in different forms and colors. The polymer plates are prepared separately for different sets of letters. This is done photographically. In the first stage the letters and the embellishments are designed in computer. Yes, this is now done in computer. This obviously widens the scope for designs and embellishments. After the design is finalized, a printout of the same is taken on a film. This is then used a negative photographic plate for developing the polymer plate. Next a polymer plate is taken and it is dipped in a water-soluble and light-sensitive synthetic material. It is then kept against a clear support and the negative film is kept in front of it. Next, UV light is made to pass through the film and onto the polymer plate. As a result, the portion of the plate that is exposed to the UV light gets hardened up, and the rest of the material is washed away. The hardened portions of the plate become raised surfaces and give shape to the letters, ornaments and designs. The polymer plate is now ready to print embossed, debossed or blind letterpress printed material on invitation cards, greetings cards, business cards etc. If you need the same material in different colors, you need to prepare different plates for different colors.

Owing to the use of computer in designing, you can have rich designs, patterns and ornaments on the cards. This enhances the beauty of the card. You can also get exquisitely designed letters through computer.

Requirements of Good Letterpress Printing

You need good quality tactile paper with rich texture for Letterpress Printing. This is all the more required for the embossing and debossing effects rather than for the blind printing effect. You also need to design the photographic plate in good resolution. Otherwise, the debossing or embossing effect won't be clear.

Expert Advice on Business Cards

A vital source of information which clients tend to overlook is a business card. 

The moment you hand over a business card to someone you are handing over your brand. Ideally, you would want to showcase your business in the best light.

You have to consider that it happens to be the oldest form of printing. It can be inked, raised and the reverse images could be pressed against the paper stock. You can describe letterpress cards as clean and crisp with bold icons. For display of spectacular typography, it is famous. Since it is a handpicked home of art a lot of time along with effort is involved in the process. Being handmade the value of the product is on the higher side.

Content

To a business card content happens to be very important. Obviously, you would want to include your contact information, but there should not be too much of it. It needs to be concise and should include your name, contact details along with your website. You can include your personal information and this boils down to your personal decision. Do not commit the folly of including social media information on the card as it would look too crowded.

Design

Another important aspect to focus on your business card is the design. It is a piece of your brand and for this reason, it should match your logo. In case if you plan to put photos on your card, the chances of updates are going to increase.

If you want your business card to stand apart from the crowd, then the design would help you to achieve that. Spending some amount extra will help you reach there. If the card is of good quality, clients are likely to form a favorable impression about the business and the brand.

Letterpress

Letterpress business cards have off late become a lot popular. From business cards to wedding invites they have made profound impacts. A strong reason for such an impression is that it has been around since 1800’s. The process began with a handset type incorporated from wood and metal. In due course the standard went on to become polymer plates. One of the unique features of letterpress business cards is that you print each color in a separate manner. All these prints are undertaken one at a time. 

Uniqueness is provided by the layered look. Once the plates are prepped to the base of the press a plate is attached. Then the rollers are inked. The quantity of ink happens to be important. If too less is provided you are going to have a messy printout and when it is too much a solid look will not be portrayed. Then the paper is rolled through. Once this process is over you are going to design color for each and every color.

You need to take note of the fact that it happens to be a tactile printing procedure. On the flip side, it is not ideal for large buckets of color and you would need to print it with a limited color palette. In addition, it works out to be an expensive way of printing.

Types of impressions

•    Embossing- between a two-sided die, you can raise the image and then press paper. No ink is transferred during the process. On the back portion of the paper, a reverse will be left behind

•    Debossing- No form of ink is transferred in this procedure. A depressed image is created where on a double-sided die, the paper is pressed.

When you are about to design a letterpress business card, keep in mind the choice of a color. The color could change and this depends on the paper stock being selected.

To conclude, turnaround time, cost along with flexibility are some of the main reasons why It is not a chosen mode of printing. As the cost of manufacturing each plate is on the higher side, the cost of printing shoots up considerably. It is a time-consuming process as a single palette can go on to print one color at a time. If you choose it, it does promise some extraordinary for sure. In the form of letter press business cards something close to perfection is achieved.

A Guide To Designing The Right Invitations Australia Card

Australians’ love for active life punctuated by celebrations is well known. They really like to gel well with relatives, acquaintances, colleagues and friends on such occasions. Occasions too, are not very few; they are aplenty. Whether it is a birthday, a baby announcement, a bridal shower, a Christmas party, a corporate event, an engagement, Halloween, pregnancy announcement, wedding or something else, Australians just love to invite their near and dear ones and spend some happy time together. Nevertheless, conjuring up an event and making it happen are two different aspects. There is no dearth of events. If there is none, you can just send a Thank You card. Yet, when there is an occasion to celebrate, you need to prepare for it. There is so much to decide about. The occasion, the person involved with the occasion, the date of celebration, the venue et al need to be decided before sending invitations. 

Finalize the Details First

When you are sending invitations you just need to make sure that the occasion, the date, the venue and all the other relevant details have been finalized. You need to be meticulous regarding these details. Once these are decided you need to proceed to designing the invitation cards.

Invitation Cards!              

E Cards, mails, Facebook posts et al are fine, but when it comes to inviting someone, the appeal of the ageless invitation cards is unparalleled. Invitation cards have a affable flavor that speaks of personalized consideration. This is even more pronounced when you write down the name and mailing address of the recipient yourself. Electronic greetings, mails, facebook posts etc lack the individualistic flavor that is so omnipresent in invitation cards. This is a big reason why the demand for paper card Invitations Australia is increasing.  

Designing the Card

Invitation cards set the tone for the occasion. They also act as a kind of reminder for the occasion. But to serve the dual purpose you need to design the card with the right spirit. The card needs to set the stage for the occasion and help the recipient get into the groove. So the design, the embellishment, the stamp, the color et al should be unique to the occasion. There must also be something that can relate the card to the sender’s occasion to celebrate. Now, you have two ways to do this. You can either dictate your requirement to a invitations Australia company and get a custom-designed card or you can do it yourself. In either case though, you have the freedom to add embellishments, designs or stamps to make it unique or more affable and vibrant. 

If you are the DIY Kind 

If you love to get involved with designing a card, it is necessary that you are aware of the basics that you need to take care of in order to design nice and appealing invitations Australia.

Clarity 

This is the most important aspect of designing and printing the card. It must be clear about the occasion, the person involved with the occasion, the date and the venue. Some other information that you may need to put in clearly may be things like dresses to wear, things to bring, RSVP details etc. So clarity is the first stage in designing invitations Australia. 

Good ink 

When you are printing is yourself, make sure to use good quality ink. Poor quality ink can just ruin your whole endeavor. It may get smudged and just deface and destroy the card. So if you are doing the printing job yourself, make sure to use good quality ink.

The Right Card Stock

The card stock has a lot to do with printing good invitation cards. If you don’t use good quality card stock you may end up with a defaced card even if you use very good quality ink. So the quality of card stock is an equally important aspect.

Put a Stamp 

A stamp is a unique way to identify and recollect the occasion. You can get stamps for every occasion. There are the Love to Celebrate stamps issued by the postal department in 2016. These stamps cater to a wide range of occasions. You can get birthday cake as well as balloon stamps for birthdays, handprint stamps for baby showers, red rose heart stamp for Valentine’s day and many more.

Letterpress Business Cards Combine The Classic Effect With Modern Process

Since the invention of printing by Gutenberg, letterpress has been the mainstay of printing. Nevertheless, the invention of offset printing has relegated the letterpress technique to a corner. Voluminous printing is now done in offset. This is cheaper, easier and quicker compared to letterpress. Yet, when it comes to beauty and elegance, there is nothing better than letterpress. Letterpress business cards are the ultimate in design and personality. Yes, your business card must have a personality. In fact, it must effuse your personality since it represents you. It should be designed in a way that it reflects your unique personality. You can do this with letterpress printing. 

It is not just a card; it is a tool to impress others

Letterpress printing goes beyond the appeal of mere printing. It is like inscribing something. You can get artistically designed deep impressions on your business card. Such a business card can really leave an impression on the recipient of your business card. 

Letterpress printing in the 21st century

Traditional letterpress printing has evolved into its modern form. It has undergone a metamorphosis into its modern identity while retaining the nostalgic flavor. Printing is still done by hand, yet the process as well as the material has undergone a sea change. Letterpress enthusiasts have really succeeded in preserving the essence of letterpress, yet imbibed some attributes of modern technology. This has elevated letterpress to a higher pedestal. The printed material is now more effective in communicating its purpose than ever before. The designing is now done in computer. This makes it possible to import a veritable treasure of designs to your letterpress business cards. Not only exquisite designs, but also attractive patterns, new artistic fonts, multicolour designs and unique graphics are now possible in business cards. In fact, letterpress business cards may well be one of the most sought after business cards now. 

The essence of primitive printing method is intact

There was a time when letterpress was the only printing technology. In those times, operators used to typeset the words either on metal plates or on wooden blocks. Metal typesets were used mainly in commercial printing whereas the wooden typesets were used for printing leaflets, cards etc. A typeset used to contain letters in reverse order. The raised surfaces of letters were smeared with ink and pressed over the piece of paper like a business card. The essence of letterpress Australia is intact, but you can now prepare the type cast and select new design and font. The material itself has undergone a change, but not the process of printing. The type cast is now done on photographic polymer plates and the letters on it are produced through a photographic process. Modern technology has ensured that type setting is no longer a time consuming, labor intensive process. Technology has enabled printers to print without much hassle. 

The modern touch to classic letterpress printing 

Polymer plates have replaced the wooden blocks and metal plates. Letters are imprinted on the plate through a photographic process. The designs are created in computer and imprinted on a film through a photographic process. This acts as a negative plate. With the help of UV lights, this image is transposed on the polymer plate. On further processing, raised letters appear on the plate. This is the design that you can now print on letterpress business cards. Such plates are available in various colors. However, you need a different plate for each color. 

Similarities Between Classic Letterpress And Modern Letterpress

Whether it is the classic letterpress print or the modern version of it, the striking similarity is borne by the raised alphabets and the hand printing technique. The stamping effect is clear in both. 

Differences between classic Letterpress And Modern Letterpress 

In the classic letterpress business cards, you could hardly get different effects like debossing, blind debossing etc. These prints have a unique appeal. Some people do prefer such unique prints for business cards. You could not have obtained such debossing effect in classic business cards. 

Common accessories 

Though the blocks have given way to polymer plates, designing is done on computer and metal alphabets have given way to raised letters in polymer plates, there is something which is common to both. You need a tactile paper to get the desired effect in letterpress business cards. 

Think About Finishing Processes of Blind Embossing

Decorating is a particular sort of printing where the printed words are raised over the surface of the paper. This is a sort of three dimensional printing much like debossing. The contrast amongst debossing and emblazoning is inconspicuous. While debossing makes the words depressed from the level of the paper, embellishing makes the words raised over the level of the paper.

Daze Embossing

Emblazoning should be possible with ink and in addition without ink. On the off chance that blind embossing is managed without ink it is known as visually impaired decorating. Such embellishing interests to unpretentious tactile observations. Individuals fall back on such printing when they would prefer not to feature the words, however need individuals to have an unpretentious reference to it.

The Finishing Process

The way toward decorating is done with the assistance of two kicks the bucket. The paper to be embellished is kept between the two kicks the bucket and weight is connected on it. The two passes on are so planned and engraved that one fits into the notches of the other flawlessly. Here weight is connected on the raised kick the bucket so it gradually presses the paper into the furrows of the recessed bite the dust. Warmth is additionally connected on the load of paper to make it more agreeable to weight. Warmth likewise helps in giving it a changeless shape.

The Effect

Dazzle embellishing makes an optical dream. The raised 'letterpress australia' regularly appear to be littler than they truly are. To adjust for this decreased size the extent of the letters in the pass on or the profundity of the kick the bucket should be more than that coveted on the paper. Another strategy that printers now and again fall back on is the utilization of an uneven bite the dust. This will offer ascent to an unevenly raised surface which will pull in more consideration from the beneficiary of the decorated card.

Line dividing is a critical parameter of decorating. On the off chance that line separating isn't measured painstakingly at that point letters may not shape particularly. The style of decorating and also work of art must be particularly set around the client. The plan same must be painstakingly engraved on the bite the dust with due thought for loss of room because of decorating.