Magnesium plates are the most traditional letterpress printing plates and have been used for decades. Now to put my knowledge to the test! “Hi,” he said to me, with a look of amazement, “I don’t believe we’ve ever met before.” That’s how I felt, too. To be perfectly honest, when I first got into letterpress, it was on a whim. I am a graphic designer and have owned a boutique design firm since 2003. It was actually scarier, to me, not  to go ahead and do it! The KF152 fits perfectly in between the 1.75mm and 0.95mm, serving as a great all-around plate being slightly harder than 1.75mm and giving a deeper relief than the 0.95mm. As we supply plates internationally, we now accommodate for this new area of letterpress. Our photopolymer plates aren’t your typical letterpress plates. We came in contact with a wonderful man in Oklahoma who sold us our C&P 8×12 old-style press in August of 2011. As a result, the emboss or de-boss in the substrate is sharper. Anything over 50 durometer is considered hard. I do calligraphy but not a designer. We have a variety of these standard base plates that can be used with a Boxcar base (94FL / 94CHFB / KF95). We’ll be happy to cut your steel-backed plates for you if you include a simple cutting diagram (with the smallest plate size we can trim being 1.5” x 1.5”). a printing plate - we ordered ours from Boxcar Press, by sending through a pdf (created by Mr Cake) - best to keep fine detail to a minimum on this. In the context of letterpress, producing is the fun part―printing is why we got involved in the first place. Almost immediately I started thinking of how to make letterpress my full time job. We’re trying to simplify the process by offering set sizes to make the ordering process easy! There are a multitude of methods for making plates. If you expand when you can afford it, and only as much as is safe, then the result will be a stable and established business, wholly owned and controlled by you. included: $30 for materials. ), we made some sample wedding invitation designs, got a few clients, and did some jobs. Word of mouth does wonders. This is our most popular letterpress printing plate. We’ve made a habit of constant experimentation in our studio and use new jobs as a way to test out techniques and different mediums. It arrived from Baltimore on a freight train in a huge crate. A month or two later, I printed my first set of wedding invitations for some friends. It was a bit daunting, but we knew we had to continue taking on the work so we could become more comfortable with the process. L Letterpress Printing Techniques from Boxcar Press - Boxcar Press. L Letterpress Printing Techniques from Boxcar Press I try to focus on things I MUST do. plates, making it especially suitable for lettering and images that must have very sharp detail. Press durability Torelief plates enjoy excellent press life thanks to their unique durability. I have't done letterpress, but I have done lino block printing and I used to just make registration marks for the plate and paper underneath where the plate was placed. We gathered some of letterpress’s best to give their testaments to the alluring power of printing. There were many schemes that were tried and discarded, including working as an under-the-table Windmill pressman at a large commercial print shop on the docks in Red Hook, Brooklyn. For what it’s worth, I think that when transitioning into anything new, it’s helpful to see everything you’ve done as building blocks for your future. The Original Heidelberg's were inspiring; churning out perfect impressions over and over. Of course, this all takes time to accomplish. Your second fill (the shadow) should be slightly darker than your background and text color; your highlight (fill #3) should be the lightest version of your color. Crosshatch Printing Co. was formally started up in 2012 as a collaboration between myself and my mom in Raleigh, North Carolina, but I first got into letterpress out in San Francisco, California in 2009. I’m an architect by training who fancies himself a graphic designer and had no idea that the cast iron weight in the back of my Honda would become a mild obsession for the next four years. Additionally, It is highly durable and is able to hold very fine detail and screen frequencies. I was instantly smitten. Defining what you want your business to become is the best way to manifest your goal. We started Wishbone Letterpress because I lost my job, and was unable to find a decent paying job. This makes them clearer and … We quickly made back the money on the press. We knew very little about printing, but Chris tirelessly researched the ins and outs of printing so it took him no time at all to realize we needed to contact Boxcar for a base among other things. I think letterpress found me more than I went looking for it. It got to the point after 6 years that if I didn’t take the plunge or figure out a way for there to be an eight day week, it was going to start hurting working relationships that I have built up over the years. Fortunately (or unfortunately), all I know how to do is run a letterpress so it made the next step undeniable.