The style Letterpress is about a technique, which offers the possibility of printing by pressing on the surface to be printed, in order to leave both its footprint and its texture engravedIn addition, the printing process can be done with or without ink.
What is Letterpress?
The "Letterpress" consists of the English designation which tends to be translated as "letterpress".
Likewise, the Letterpress style it is usually one of the most used among designers that normally work with letters, since one of the main reasons why it is used is due to the freedom it provides when creating the letters.
How to make Letterpress?
The original technique of the Letterpress style, tries to make the design using letter molds or some ornaments, usually made with lead or wood that can use ink, for after and through the application of pressure, power directly print design drawn on paper.
Since the ink is not spread evenly around the entire design, small imperfections When the mold comes into contact with the paper, these imperfections are responsible for giving personality to this kind of printing, which is why they turn out to be very loved by people who choose Letterpress.
Likewise, apart from the ink being impregnated on the paper, there are also some small depths on site where it makes contact with the mold.
If the paper is quite thick and has a cottony texture, it is possible to obtain a low relief effect which adds a greater texture when obtaining the final result. And as we have previously mentioned, Letterpress can be done with or without ink; In the case of not having ink, it is called “embossing” or “dry blow”.
What are the appropriate papers for Letterpress?
There is a variety of brands in the market that are dedicated to making appropriate papers for letterpress printing, regardless of which one is chosen, it must meet the following characteristics:
Fiber paper
Have to have a high content of cotton fibers, since it is necessary that the fiber of the paper can withstand this pressure without breaking or cracking.
It must have sufficient thickness, because as already mentioned, when using this kind of impression, a both bas-relief and relief effect. The most commonly used weights in letterpress printing are normally 350-400gr, although it is possible to get papers of approximately 600gr.