letterpress

Letterpress as we know it started in Germany in the 15th century. In this process, the design is actually pressed into the paper, leaving a crisp indentation and bold ink impression.

A very labor-intensive process, letterpress printing demands the most stringent attention to detail. In traditional work, individual letters were set, one at a time, into lines, and locked into a metal frame. This frame was then locked into the press and inked. Each piece of stationery was printed by hand one piece at a time.

Today, many printers use photopolymer plates in lieu of hand-set type. Aside from modern advances in printing plates, letterpress printing remains virtually unchanged more than 500 years after its inception.