From the Studio
How We Print: Letterpress
A look at the process behind every card.
Naomi shows the printing process.
Our founder, Loren learned letterpress at the San Francisco Center for the Book and continued at the Kansas City Center for Ink and Paper Arts. We now have three antique presses in the studio — Fiona, Bertha, and Gertrude — and every card is printed on one of them, one sheet at a time, by our incredible artisan team.
There's nothing quite like the texture of a letterpress deboss on handmade paper.
The Process
01
Gather the plates — photopolymer stamps of Loren's designs — from our studio drawers.
02
Align and adhere the plates to the boxcar base, which positions them so the ink covers their surfaces evenly.
03
Press the foot pedal to run the press in "trip" mode — inking the plates without printing.
04
Affix the paper to the tympan with a small piece of tape, opposite the boxcar base.
05
Run the press in "print" mode, pressing the image into the paper.
06
Remove the paper and repeat — each card printed by hand.
Thanks for keeping this craft alive and supporting our letterpress cards.
See this month's collection →