About a year ago I had a sudden interest in learning to use the letterpress machine. There is something really unique and personal about letterpress printing. Must be the art of hand printing individually with so much love and care that has something to do with it. I’ve only learned about the letterpress printing in theory during my design school years but never had any hands on experience. So I took up on the opportunity to learn about the process with Rebecca at Reb Peter Printing in Oakland. She was so great to work with. She walk me through the process and coach me along the way. You can sign up for her workshop individually or as a group. From coming up with original designs to getting the photopolymer plates, selecting and cutting the paper, mixing the color by eye and hand to feeding the machine one by one to see the final end result…I immediately fell in love with the art of letterpress.
This is her beautiful antique Chandler & Price 10″ x 15″ press. It’s actually very therapeutic working with this machine. At first, I was scared to get my fingers stuck or just thought of running the machine on my own was daunting but once you get your own rhytme going, you almost become one with the machine.
The best part about printing letterpress design is hand mixing the colors. We pick the colors using the Pantone color book but match the color with our eyes and mix them by hand!
Here are just few of card designs that I have printed during holiday season. Some of my recent cards can be found at a local store in Oakland and online at my etsy shop! I hope to do more letterpress work and bring thoughtful design pieces to show you!
